The Great Neck Memorial Day Parade Committee is proud to announce that the 98th annual parade will be held on Monday May, 27, 2024. The parade route starts at Susquehanna Avenue on Middle Neck Road at 9:30 a.m. sharp and ends at the Village Green. Commemorative ceremonies including presentation to the Grand Marshal, laying of memorial wreaths and the sounding of “Taps” will be held at approximately 11 a.m. The parade and official ceremonies are held under the auspices of the Charles A. Fowler, Jr. American Legion Post #160, United States Merchant Marine Academy, Alert Engine, Hook Ladder and Hose Co.#1, and Vigilant Engine and Hook and Ladder Company. Other Parade Committee Members include representatives from local participating organizations.
Parade Chair Louise McCann reminds us to remember that “the true meaning of Memorial Day is to honor, respect and commemorate all those who have given the full measure of devotion to our country”.
We encourage all veterans to be an honored part of our celebration. Veterans who march from the beginning of the parade will be escorted by an Honor Guard. Any veteran needing assistance will be driven the entire length of the parade. Contact Commander McCann at jagmsg@optonline.net to register.
This year’s Grand Marshal is Vice Admiral Joanna Nunan, who assumed the position of Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Dec. 8, 2022. She is the first female Superintendent in the Academy’s history to hold this role. Admiral Nunan spent more than three decades in the U.S. Coast Guard and has commanded units at multiple levels both afloat and ashore. She also been a Supervisor at the Coast Guard Academy, a military advisor to the Department of Homeland Security and a Military Assistant to the Department of Transportation. Admiral Nunan graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1987 and received her Masters of Business Administration degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic.
The parade this year is also dedicated to our “Gold Star mothers and families. They are ones that have experienced a loss of a loved one who was either killed or died as a result of active-duty military service in defense of our nation. In 1918, President Wilson authorized a suggestion made by the Women’s Committee of the Council of Nations Defenses, that mothers who had lost a child who served in WWI could wear a traditional black mourning armband with a gold gilt star. A gold star is then placed on a family’s service flag.
For more information, please contact us at gnparades@gmail.com. If you wish to support the the Parade Committee, please make checks payable to Charles A. Fowler, Jr. American Legion Post #160, PO Box 4486, Great Neck, NY 11023
—Submitted by the Great Neck
Memorial Day Parade Committee
