Memorial Day parades, ceremonies mark somber day
Richard Jewell will be the keynote speaker at the Bethel Park Memorial Day ceremony.
Memorial Day may mark the unofficial start to summer, but the holiday is much more meaningful.
“A lot of people get misled by it thinking it’s a day for picnics, swimming and summer beginning, but it’s a really important holiday,” said Brian Peitz of Mount Lebanon.
“We remember all those who have actually perished in one of our conflicts. Veterans Day, as everyone knows, is in the fall and you celebrate all veterans. This special day actually honors those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. Men and women who are no longer with us.”
For many years as a Boy Scout, Peitz marched in the South Hills Memorial Day Parade (SHMDP). Most recently, he has been part of the parade committee. He currently serves as the vice president of the SHMDP association.
Established in 1934, the parade will play a key role in South Hills festivities to be held May 26 as it brings together the communities of Brookline, Dormont and Mount Lebanon.
The largest Memorial Day parade in Southwestern Pennsylvania will be preceded by the playing of “Taps” and a 21-gun salute for a dedication of a special World War I memorial.
The cavalcade departs Brookline Boulevard at 10 a.m. and proceeds to Pioneer Avenue onto West Liberty Avenue. It concludes with a ceremony in Mount Lebanon Cemetery.
The 91st SHMDP is dedicated to the memory of Thomas A. Bird. A Marine, he was the first Mount Lebanon resident killed in action during the Vietnam War. Bird Park was dedicated in the first lieutenant’s name on Memorial Day in 1967.
Rocky Bleier serves as this year’s parade marshal. Selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers after helping Notre Dame win a national football championship, Bleier was also drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968 and served in Vietnam. While on patrol, an ambush injured much of his lower body. After nearly two years of recovery, Bleier went on to help the Steelers win four Super Bowl championships.
“The Memorial Day parade is important to me,” said Bleier, who resides in Mount Lebanon. “It’s always been a big part of my life. The bands. The soldiers,” he added.
Military personnel will be recognized for their service throughout the South Hills on Memorial Day.
Prior to the SHMDP, Mount Lebanon will conduct a ceremony at 8:30 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial at Morgan Drive at the entrance of the main park.
The thoroughfare is dedicated in memory of Wiliam D. Morgan. The 1966 Mount Lebanon High School graduate served as a corporal in the Marine Corps. He is one of 11 Mount Lebanon men who died for the country. Morgan died Feb. 25, 1969, in Vietnam.
Master of Ceremonies Blaise Larotonda delivers the welcome followed by an invocation by the Rev. Jim Magaw from the Sunnyhill Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills.
After a presentation of colors by the Mt. Lebanon Police Department Honor Guard and the National Anthem by the high school marching band, Navy Pilot Jim McStay will speak.
In between a musical arrangement of “Main Street America” and “Taps” by the marching band, the Placing of the Wreath ceremony will take place.
BETHEL PARK
Dick Jewell of Bethel Park has much in common with Pietz and Bleier.
Since moving to the municipality in 1956, he has attended every Memorial Day Parade. The two he missed were due to his service in the Army.
Jewell will be the distinguished guest at the Bethel Park Memorial Day remembrance on May 26. He will deliver remarks during the opening ceremony set for 8:50 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in front of the municipal building at 5100 W. Library Ave. His speech will focus on the meaning of the holiday.
Prior to his service, Jewell graduated from Bethel Park High School, where he was a WPIAL diving champion. A Grove City College graduate, Jewell also won the U.S. Army 1-meter diving title in 1970 at Ft. MacArthur in California. A member of the Bethel Park athletic Hall of Fame as well as the Great Alumni Hall, Jewell is Director of Strategic Marketing for Berkeley Research Group.
Following the opening ceremony, which includes a roll call of servicemen killed or missing in action and a laying of a wreath ritual at the veterans memorial, the day continues with the annual parade. The cavalcade steps off at 10 a.m. from the municipal building and ends at the Bethel Cemetery, adjacent to Bethel Presbyterian Church on Bethel Church Road. A cemetery service hosted by American Legion Post 760 will be held immediately after the parade at approximately 11 a.m. A luncheon will be held at the Bethel Park Community Center following the service for those who participated in the event.
In case of inclement weather, the morning ceremony will be moved indoors to council chambers in the municipal building, the parade will be canceled, and tents will be on site at the cemetery for the service, which will be broadcast on BPTV. The luncheon will stay the same.
Any changes to the program will be announced by 7 a.m. on Memorial Day on all Bethel Park social media outlets and at bethelparkpa.gov on the official website.
SOUTH FAYETTE
The South Fayette-Bridgeville Memorial Day parade starts at 10 a.m. on May 26 on Washington Pike, near Interstate 79 in South Fayette.
The main street will be closed from Warchol Funeral Home to the Chartiers Street bridge, and Washington Avenue will close in downtown Bridgeville.
During the parade, all traffic will be prohibited from using those roads, entering/exiting local shopping areas, and using the Chartiers Street intersection.
PETERS TOWNSHIP
The VFW Post 764 will host a Memorial Day Parade on May 26 in Peters Township. The parade steps off at 9 a.m.
A ceremony immediately follows the parade in the VFW parking lot. Patrick Keally is the keynote speaker
A Peters Township resident, Keally was a highly decorated Marine. He is also the author of the book “Year of the Rooster-Vietnam 1969”.
The VFW will be open to the public on Memorial Day. Entertainment will be provided from noon to 4 p.m. Ruff Creek Band will be the featured entertainment.
Visit www.vfw764.org or www.facebook.com/VFW764 for more details.