GRAFTON, W.Va. – A long-standing parade in Grafton is set for Monday.
The 158th West Virginia Memorial Day Parade will take place beginning at 10 a.m. with the goal to celebrate and honor those who served the country.
WV Memorial Day Committee Chairman Corey Robinson says some people use Memorial Day weekend as a celebration for the beginning of summer; however the city uses the parade as a time to stop and reflect.
“For us and our community it’s a time honored to stop and to remember our military heroes who have fallen protecting our freedoms both oversees and here at home,” Robinson said.
Parade participants will begin lining up at Grafton High School and will officially begin at the intersection of Yates Avenue and Beech Street and go through town a little differently than parades in the past.
Robinson said that they had to change the route because of safety concerns.
“Before we had been a little bit spread out through town and now, we’re at one centralized location,” he said. “We’re grateful for Grafton High School to be able to do our lineup there.”
He said that they are also using the parade to honor five soldiers whose remains were returned home to West Virginia this year.
“This year there were five hero’s whose remains were finally returned home to their home state of West Virginia and we’re honored to be able to honor them with this parade this year on Memorial Day,” Robinson said.
Those five being honored are Army Corporal Howard Goodwin Jr., U.S. Army Private First-Class James Bowman, Sgt. Kester Benard Hardman, Lt. Jay Ross Manowd Jr., and Private First-Class Moose E. Vance.
Robinson says that there a lot of younger volunteers participating in this year’s parade.
He said the reason for this was because the town doesn’t want to lose this parade that’s been around for so long.
“It’s very important because this is not something that we want to lose, we’re 158 years strong continuously having this parade,” Robinson said. “It takes volunteers, we have a core of about 20 that work year-round to make sure that the parade and Memorial Services are a success.”
To learn more about the parade and activities surrounding the parade you can visit their website here.
Story by Morgan Pemberton, MetroNews