American Legion Post 509 has named Paul Oleksiw the grand marshal of the Port Washington Memorial Day Parade to be held May 26. The parade will proceed down Main Street from Campus Drive to the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bandshell starting at 10 a.m.
The lifelong Port Washington resident has served both his community and country through his work in the Navy and civic associations like the Port Washington Business Improvement District and American Legion Post 509, where he is the vice commander.
“It’s an honor to be grand marshal,” Oleksiw said. “I think very highly of the [American Legion] post and its members. What a good group of people!”
While Oleksiw said he is usually involved with choosing the annual grand marshal, his fellow American Legion members surprised him by selecting him as the grand marshal at a President’s Day dinner event.
When the post’s Commander, Fred Falconer, told Oleksiw the organization had found its grand marshal, he was confused about why the group never consulted him. But when the organization announced that he’d be the grand marshal, Oleksiw said he was humbled and pleasantly surprised.
Oleksiw enlisted in the Navy in 1984 while in his senior year at Schreiber High School. After finishing basic training and gun school, Oleksiw was stationed aboard the submarine tender USS L.Y. Spear in Norfolk, Va., where he provided logistical and technical support to the ship’s squadron of nuclear attack submarines.
Over the next few years, Oleksiw would serve in various positions on the ship, from working security watch to training the crew to handle pistols, shotguns, rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers.
Oleksiw said his most memorable deployment was when the Spear conducted a two-month-long training exercise with NATO for Operation Teamwork 88, which evaluated the alliance’s ability to fight in the Norwegian Sea and along Norway’s coastline.
After graduating from the College of Aeronautics with a Bachelor of Technology degree in 1993, Oleksiw became a business partner with Bill’s Automotive Repair on Main Street in Port Washington, where he has worked ever since.
Since his military service, Oleksiw has served the community as a commissioner for the Port Washington Garbage District for 14 years and as president and secretary of the Port Washington Business Improvement District board.
Oleksiw also serves on the Board of Directors as secretary for the John Phillip Sousa Memorial Band Shell Committee and as the vice commander of American Legion Post 509.
Around two weeks before the parade, Oleksiw will also celebrate his 28th wedding anniversary with his wife, Jeanine. The couple has two children, Tyler and Heather, who both work in nursing.
The Port Washington Memorial Day Parade will be followed by a service at the John Philip Sousa Memorial Bandshell.
