#InTheLoop | Honor Veterans in Queens over Memorial Day Weekend
Countless Queens natives have made the ultimate sacrifice to their country. They’ve received Congressional Medals of Honor, Purple Hearts, National Defense Service Medals, Bronze Stars, Distinguished Flying Crosses, and other honors.
The borough pays homage to our fallen heroes with parades and solemn observances during the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend. Here’s a chronological list of some activities.
Friday, May 26
City Council Member Sandra Ung will host a ceremony in front of the Korean War Memorial in Kissena Park at 3 pm.
Saturday, May 27
Boy Scout Troop 177 facilitates a respectful ceremony in Maple Grove Cemetery at 11 am. Plus, the main office provides free flags to any volunteer who wants to place them at the gravesites of veterans over the weekend. (Enter at 127-15 Kew Gardens Rd.)
The Bayside Hills Civic Association’s annual ceremony is set for the flagpole at Bell Boulevard and 53rd Avenue at 9:30 am. Please note that the traditional wreath-laying at Captain Dermody Triangle on 48th Avenue is not possible this year due to renovations.
Sunday, May 28
The Forest Hills tribute begins with an informal gathering outside American Legion Continental Post 1424 at 107-15 Metropolitan Ave. at 11 am. Then at noon, the procession goes down Metropolitan to Trotting Course Lane.
The honoree is Lieutenant Joseph R. Hunt who made the ultimate sacrifice while with the U.S. Navy during World War II. Before joining the effort, he won the 1943 U.S. National Tennis Championship, which took place on the grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills Gardens. (He defeated Jack Kramer 6-3, 6-8, 10-8, 6-0 in the finals.)
The College Point commemoration lines up in the vicinity of 28th Avenue, College Point Boulevard, and Ulmer Street at 2 pm. All are invited, and marchers definitely include local martial artists, aerialist, business owners, and civic groups. They’ll go down College Point Boulevard, turn left on Fifth Avenue, and head to a reviewing stand at MacNeil Park on Poppenhusen Avenue.
Free American flags will be handed out along the route.
The Maspeth march starts at Walter A. Garlinge Memorial Park at 72nd Place and Grand Avenue at 1 pm. It ends with another ceremony at Maspeth Memorial Park on 69th Street and Grand Avenue.
This year’s theme is “Maspeth Presents the Leaders of the Future,” and the grand marshals are community activist Madeline LaFauce and Paul A. Feddern, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
Monday, May 29
The Elmhurst event starts at Nine Heroes Plaza in the vicinity of Broadway, 76th Street and 41st Avenue at 12:15 am. Sponsored by the Newtown Civic Association, Elmhurst History & Cemeteries Preservation Society, and La Línea del Rezo, the ritual includes the placing of a wreath and American flags, a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and some short speeches.
Then, those present head to Elmhurst Memorial Hall at 88-28 43rd Ave for a second wreath-laying.
The Little Neck/Douglaston parade, which is among the biggest in the entire country, kicks off at 2 pm, but there’s a full morning of related activities beforehand. First up is an interfaith service at the Oakland Little Neck Jewish Center at 49-10 Little Neck Pkwy. at 10 am. Then at 11:15 am, a wreath-laying ceremony is scheduled for Monument Park in Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy’s schoolyard at Alameda Avenue and Northern Boulevard. Thirty minutes later, a veteran’s breakfast will be served at Father Smith Hall there. The parade steps off from Jayson Avenue and Northern in Great Neck at 2 pm. It goes along Northern to 245th Street in Douglaston. Click here for some gathering spots.
The Glendale/Ridgewood procession alternates direction every year, but it always begins at 11 am. In 2023, the tide goes from Glendale to Ridgewood. So the step-off is the Glendale Memorial Triangle at Myrtle and Cooper avenues. The end spot is the Ridgewood Veterans Triangle at Myrtle and Cypress avenues. There are ceremonies at both ends, and the grand marshal is retired Navy Reservist Michael Gorton, a member of the American Legion Post 104. The main organizer is the Allied Veterans Memorial Committee of Ridgewood and Glendale.
In Howard Beach, the day begins with a 9:30 am Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church, 100-05 159th Ave. The parade route begins and ends at One Coleman Square in the vicinity of 159th Avenue and 103rd Street at 11 am. The VFW Post 2565 is the sponsor and organizer. (P.S. The after part is at Rail Bar & Grill at 2 Coleman Sq.)
Out in Woodhaven, the American Legion Post 118 hosts a respectful service at 89-02 91st St. at 11 am. The ceremony includes a presentation of colors by the Franklin K. Lane High School Junior ROTC Cadet Honor Guard.
On the north side of Woodside at 10 am, the American Legion Post 1836 and the FDNY Ceremonial Unit participate in a 65th annual ceremony in the main archway to Boulevard Gardens at 31st Avenue and 54th Street.
Meanwhile on Woodside’s south side, St. Sebastian Church holds its annual Remembrance Mass at 1o am. Then at 11 am, a parade is scheduled to begin across the street at St. Sebastian Catholic Academy in the vicinity of 57th Street and Woodside Avenue.
Last but not least, the Whitestone Veterans Memorial Association’s annual effort kicks off from 149th Street and 15th Drive at 11 am. The ceremony begins with comments by the grand marshal, Louis Clavell (U.S. Navy 1951-1954), elected officials, and community leaders. Then, veterans organizations, civic groups, sports associations, car clubs, and such bands as NYPD Pipes & Drums make their way up 149th street to 12th Avenue, down 150th Street, and back to the field at 149th Street and 15th Drive.
Editor’s note: It is believed that the Rosedale Memorial Day Parade begins at 243rd Street and Mayda Road on May 29 at 11 am. However, the It’s In Queens website couldn’t confirm the details. If you have any information, please send it to rmackay@queensny.org.
