Vets to be parade grand marshals

loading...

It will be a Fourth of July Parade to remember with more than 1,000 military veterans expected to take part at 11 a.m. Friday, proceeding from Brewer to Bangor.

Veterans participating will receive reflective stickers for their walking sticks, Don Colson’s “Quiet Courage” book and the honor of being an honorary grand marshal.

Bangor-area Kiwanis clubs, which organize the parade and other Independence Day activities, have decided to give that recognition to all veterans who take part in the annual parade.

“All American veterans are going to be honorary grand marshals,” said Doug Damon, organizer for Kiwanis. “Why hadn’t we done it before? All veterans have contributed.”

The 1,000 or more Maine veterans taking part will include his dad, World War II veteran Keith Damon of Dennysville.

Damon, now 84, will be proudly sitting in the right front seat of Brewer’s antique firetruck, a privilege his son purchased at auction.

Pvt. Damon’s Army service more than six decades ago took him to the Pacific Theater in the Philippines’ Battle of Leyte Gulf, among others.

He previously has ridden the veterans’ buses in Bangor parades along with “those whose generations saved the world,” his son said.

Keith Damon is a lifelong member of the American Legion, said Doug, whose own military career was in the Maine Air National Guard.

Doug recalled that during his own childhood, his dad “used to march in parades in Dennysville, and I used to run along beside him.”

Volunteers at the Cole Land Transportation Museum, which has been distributing walking sticks to Maine veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, are optimistic that the number of veterans walking or riding in the 11 a.m. parade will top 1,000 on Friday.

With that in mind, said Galen Cole, museum founder, volunteers will distribute red-white-and-blue “One in a Thousand” reflective stickers to parade participants with walking sticks from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Friday, July 4, on the lawn by the Brewer Municipal Pool on Wilson Street.

As the veterans form up for the parade, they also will receive a slip entitling them to an autographed copy of Don Colson’s “Quiet Courage,” the Cole Museum book profiling 89 Maine veterans.

After the parade, the veterans may turn in the slip for their copy of the book near TD Banknorth on Exchange Street in Bangor; on the lawn by the Brewer pool; or at the Cole Museum, 405 Perry Road, Bangor. The books will be available to these veterans at the museum daily through Aug. 31.

Maine veterans of the three designated wars who don’t have a walking stick yet and would like to participate in the parade may still obtain one through the Cole Museum, Cole said.

Each veteran needs to show identification and pick up the walking stick in person at the museum 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through July 3 at 405 Perry Road.

The museum does not have enough walking sticks to allow relatives to pick them up for veterans who are in nursing homes or live out of state. In such cases, relatives may purchase walking sticks directly from the manufacturer, Peavey Manufacturing in Eddington, at 843-7861.

The walking stick program at Cole Museum is intended to encourage Maine veterans of WWII, Korean and Vietnam wars to take part in parades such as the Fourth of July parade. Veterans may walk or ride in one of the buses provided by First Student.

The parade will continue across the Chamberlain Bridge to Bangor, go down Main Street and disband on Exchange Street.

Veterans who would like a ride to the start of the parade in Brewer may take one of the buses at 9:30 a.m. or 9:45 a.m. on Exchange Street in Bangor.

With the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge reopening recently, people have been asking whether spectators will be permitted to watch the 9:15 p.m. fireworks from the bridge.

The answer is yes, Damon said. Those who wish to watch from the bridge donate $1, which helps defray costs. Kiwanis depends on contributions from businesses and individuals, he said, adding that as of June 27, the clubs still needed to raise $8,000 for the Fourth of July. This year the Maine Edge is accepting contributions to the Kiwanis project at 21 Main St., Suite 101B, Bangor.

Fourth of July activities:

BREWER – Bangor Noontime Kiwanis Breakfast, 6-10 a.m. July 4, Brewer Auditorium, Wilson Street. $4.50 adults, $3.50 children.

BREWER-BANGOR – Fourth of July 3K Run, 10:45 a.m., Acme Road and Wilson Street, Brewer.

BREWER-BANGOR – Fourth of July Parade, 11 a.m. July 4, begins at corner of Acme Road and Wilson Street, proceeds down Wilson Street, across Joshua Chamberlain Bridge, turns right on Main Street in Bangor, proceeds down Main Street, right on State Street, disbands on Exchange Street.

BANGOR – Patriotic concert by Bangor Band, 7 p.m. July 4, at the Bandstand, Paul Bunyan Park, Bangor.

BREWER-BANGOR – Fireworks, 9:15 p.m. July 4, on the Waterfront. Spectators may view fireworks from the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge for $1, with proceeds helping Kiwanis pay for Fourth of July activities.