[StBernard] ST. BERNARD TO HOLD VETERANS' CEREMONY AND PARADE WED. AT 9 A.M.; LT. GEN. HONORE IS KEY NOTE SPEAKER

[Westley Annis]

ST. BERNARD TO HOLD VETERANS’ CEREMONY AND PARADE WED., NOV. 10

VETERANS’ RECOGNITION CEREMONY AT 9 A.M. AT VETERANS MONUMENT

 WILL BE FOLLOWED BY PARADE; LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE TO SPEAK 

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. will hold a Veterans’
Recognition Ceremony at the Veterans Monument in front of the Sigur Civic
Center on Wednesday, November 10 at 9 a.m. Immediately following the
ceremony, a parade will roll east from the monument at 8245 West Judge Perez
and it will turn onto Old Hickory Avenue where it will enter The Mall at
3700 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette.

 

“Few things that we celebrate as a community are more important than taking
time to recognize our veterans,” said President Taffaro, who held a ceremony
last year at the monument and wanted to expand the event to include a parade
this year as was done before Katrina. “Those veterans who made the ultimate
sacrifice and those who continue to walk amongst us provide a tangible
example of the tenacity and will of the American spirit. We as a parish
community give them all the respect and honor and thanksgiving that we can.
Our small parade is a small token of our gratitude.”

 

Veterans from all branches of the military are invited to be recognized in
this year’s ceremony and to be in the parade, which will have vehicles for
the elderly or disabled veterans. Any children whose parents or siblings are
active duty service men or women serving away from home are welcome to walk
in front of the veterans and hold signs or posters with photographs of their
relatives with messages.

 

Lt. General Russel L. Honoré, US Army (Ret), who led Task Force Katrina in
the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in
the summer of 2005, will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony. General
Honoré is currently a Senior Scientist with The Gallup Organization, where
he is working on developing questions to determine levels of preparedness.
The ceremony also will include patriotic music provided by the Chalmette
High School Marching Band, which also will perform in the parade.

 

The St. Bernard Veterans Monument, designed by local veterans, is a six-part
monument dedicated to all branches of the United States military service:
Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. It was
built with money raised through the sale of bricks and private donations
dedicated to veterans who fought in all wars from the American Revolution to
the current conflicts. It was completed in 2005, just weeks before Katrina,
and it was officially dedicated on March 20, 2006 with the FEMA trailers in
the background. It was to be dedicated to be dedicated on Nov. 11 2005.
Former Marine Sgt. Charles Kingston and Bonnie Cook of the Francois deLery
chapter of the Daughters of American Revolution led the drive to raise the
money to complete the first monument dedicated to all branches of the
service in St. Bernard Parish. The parish allowed the monument to be built
on the government property in cooperation with local veterans groups. 

 

The St. Bernard Parish Government Events Committee is coordinating the
parade. Everyone is invited to attend the ceremony and the brief parade
meant to honor our veterans for all of the sacrifices they have made for us.
President Taffaro will feed all the veterans who attend at the IHOP
restaurant after the parade. Murphy Oil USA will provide flags for all
veterans and guests to wave along the parade route. Refreshments will be
provided at the end of the route, and transportation will be available to
bring people back to their cars at the beginning of the route, if necessary.


 

Anyone interested in purchasing memorial bricks which are $75 a piece, may
call Bonnie Cook at 504-722-8823. Also, Cook can assist in locating
veterans’ bricks already in the monument. The log of brick locations will be
available at the ceremony.

 

The St. Bernard Parish Events Committee is coordinating the event. Call the
President's Office at 504-278-4227 for information. Media may call Lenor
Duplessis at 504-874-0894 or Donna Nye at 504-417-9604 for day of the parade
inquiries. 

 

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