CLARK—The township will host the eighth annual Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 25. The parade will kick off promptly at 9:30 a.m. and will be followed by the traditional Memorial Day services in front of Arthur L. Johnson High School on Westfield Avenue.
The line of march will begin on Westfield Avenue near the American Legion Post and proceed to the high school. Parking will be limited; all attending are encouraged to park at town hall and in the back section of the high school parking lot.
Westfield Avenue from Town Hall to Liberty Street will be closed to traffic from 9:20 to 10:30 a.m. Parking will be prohibited from 7 to 10:30 a.m. along the parade route as well as John and Nassau streets between Westfield Avenue and Broadway.
Mayor Sal Bonaccorso and municipal council members are expected to march, along with representatives from the American Legion and VFW posts of Clark, Clark Police, Union County Police and Sherriff’s Department, adult and youth organizations including Scouts and sports, the Golden Knights Senior Drum & Bugle Corps, the Legionnaires Sr. Marching Band and more.
“With our troops presently protecting liberty on foreign soil, the parade committee encourages everyone to come out and line the sidewalks of Westfield Avenue to support our town and recognize those lives that were sacrificed to ensure our freedom,” committee member Martha Kamichoff said.
The township started the current Memorial Day parade tradition in 2002.
During World War II, Clark residents celebrated “I Am American Day,” beginning in 1942 and continuing through the 1950s. At the conclusion of those parades, all the participants and observers circled the large wooden board listing the names of those Clark residents who went off to war, called the “Honor Roll.” In 1947 the “Honor Roll” was replaced with the township’s present war memorial monument located in front of the high school.
