The days are getting longer and the weather is finally getting warmer, but summer does not begin until Memorial Day. Port Washington will once again hold its own parade and event to mark the start of the season and to remember the reason for the holiday, the country’s veterans.
The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday at the intersection of Port Washington Boulevard and Campus Drive. After making their way down Main Street, the participants will end their march at the Town Dock.
Douglas Weston, a parade organizer, said that veterans from every war since World War II will be taking part.
“We have a few of them still around, and we have a lot of younger guys, too,” he said.
Two veterans will serve as the grand marshals for the parade: Douglas Schlaefer Sr. and John Hellenschmidt.
Schlaefer will represent VFW Post 1819. His family has a long history in Port Washington — his father was the first motorcycle policeman in the area — and he worked at Gordon Schlaefer’s Furniture store on Main Street for 36 years.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1953 at the age of 17. He served for two years and was sent to Busan, Korea, where he received several awards including the Good Conduct Medal. He was honorably discharged in 1955.
“It felt great [to be chosen],” Schlaefer said.
Traveling with Schlaefer in the parade will be John Hellenschmidt, a member of American Legion Post 509 in Port Washington.
Hellenschmidt served at the Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach, where he took part in missions such as in-flight refueling, flight interceptors, and air rescue and recovery. After serving in the National Guard, Hellenschmidt moved to Port Washington, where he became a real estate broker and raised his family.
“It is a great honor to be selected as Post 509 Grand Marshal for the 2018 Memorial Day Parade,” he said in a statement.
Members of Port Washington’s fire and police departments will take part in the parade, along with several community groups. The parade will be followed with a short ceremony at a bandshell on the Town Dock.
