March for veterans set for this Tuesday
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 9, 2014 1:50 AM
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News-Argus file photo
Bill Graham, left, president of the Wayne County Veterans and Patriots Coalition, and Vic Taylor, chairman of the Wayne County Veterans Services Advisory Board, sit on one of the benches at the Wayne County Veterans Memorial. Both men have been involved in the planning for the annual Veterans Day Parade to be held Tuesday.
Hallett Mayo, 92, a World War II prisoner of war in Germany, will serve as grand marshal for the 21st annual Wayne County Veterans Day Parade to be held Tuesday in downtown Goldsboro.
The staging area will remain on South Center Street with the lineup beginning at 9 a.m. The parade will start promptly at 11 a.m., said Bill Graham, president of the Wayne County Veterans and Patriots Coalition, and Vic Taylor, chairman of the Wayne County Veterans Services Advisory Board.
The route will be different than in previous years because of the ongoing Streetscape project. However, the public can still expect the same first-class event the parade is known for, they said.
As of Friday, the entry deadline, 95 units had signed up.
"To be sure there will be more," Graham said. "We always have some late entries."
The parade will step off from the corner of Spruce and John streets, then turn left onto John Street.
Traditionally, the Police Department honor guard leads the parade followed by honor guards from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and the Sheriff's Office.
The VIP and reviewing stand will be in front of St. Paul United Methodist Church on John Street.
"That is where we will have the national anthem and we will do some other things there," Graham said.
Mayor Pro-tem Bill Broadaway will read a proclamation paying tribute to the day. Col. Mark Slocum of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base will be the guest speaker.
"Regardless if there is speaking going on on the platform, or whatever, at 11 o'clock, city police will pull the parade out at 11 o'clock," Graham said.
The parade will continue north on John Street, turn right on Mulberry Street to William Street, turn right on William Street where it will continue to Spruce Street, turning right on Spruce Street to follow back to its starting point.
For the first time, the route will take the parade past the Wayne County Veterans Memorial at the corner of William and Walnut streets.
There will be a formal wreath-laying ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Wayne County Veterans Memorial, 224 E. Walnut St.
Charles Nail will be the speaker.
"The Coalition will be doing the wreath laying because Veterans Day is not only about those veterans living whom we pay honor to," Graham said. "It also honors those who have sacrificed their lives as well."
The ceremony will include a sounding of taps.
Taylor will call the parade lineup.
"And I will be escorting Mr. Mayo wherever he needs to go that day," Taylor said. "It is an honor for me. I think any (World War II veterans) should be given the royal treatment wherever they are."
The Daughters of the American Revolution will sponsor a reception at the Wayne County Museum immediately following the parade.
The parade is normally held regardless of the weather.
"We have only canceled the parade once in the nine years that I have been doing it and that was because of a heavy downpour," Graham said. "It doesn't matter how cold it is, we will still have the parade. But if we wake up that morning, and it is raining and the forecast is not calling for clear skies, the parade will not go on. There is no makeup day because Veterans Day is Veterans Day."