The All White Working Class Town of Milford Michigan will celebrate Memorial Day with a parade long known for not having clowns, politicians, candy-throwing, selling, advertising, minority pandering or classic car shows.Instead, it will focus on veterans.
Up to 1,000 veterans will gather for the parade at 11 a.m. Monday, which begins at the American Legion Post 216, 510 W. Commerce Road. It will travel east on Commerce Road and south on Main Street, ending in Central Park, where a brief ceremony will honor the fallen and recognize those who have served. Main Street will close by 10:30 a.m.
Weather permitting, scheduled military fly-overs -- made possible by Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Yankee Air Museum and the U.S. Coast Guard Detroit -- will feature more than 10 vintage and modern military airplanes, including A-10 jets, AT-6 and SNJ single-engine fighters, and a B-25 bomber.
New this year, the community will be able to view a Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopter provided by the Michigan Army National Guard Aviation Unit. The Blackhawk is scheduled to land in Central Park’s baseball diamond around 9 a.m. and remain on display all day. The public is invited to see the helicopter up close, meet the pilots and learn about the helicopter’s recent deployment and role in Afghanistan.
The parade will also include local police and fire departments, marching bands, scouting organizations and more.
“It is the business of remembrance and being ‘patriotic’ that is the core and primary product,” parade chairman Joseph Salvia said in a statement. “It is the business of recording the gains and profits of gratitude and respect. It is the business of referring to sales volume in terms of thousands of citizens coming together to say thanks to those who have served or are serving in the armed forces of America.”
