The Bayonne Memorial Day Parade will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, 2023. Last year, the City of Bayonne worked in conjunction with the veterans of the Memorial Day Parade Committee to bring the parade back after an absence of two years. Mayor Jimmy Davis said, “As the son of a proud Korean War veteran, I was very happy that we found a way to revive the parade in 2022. I am glad to say that the successful collaboration between the veterans and the City of Bayonne has continued in 2023.”
Pete Amadeo, the Supervisor of the City of Bayonne’s Recreation Division, has worked with Barry Jones, the parade chairman, and the other veterans on the Memorial Day Parade Committee to invite various organizations to take part in the parade in both 2022 and 2023. Mr. Jones is an Army veteran from the Vietnam era.
There will be a ceremony at the traditional start of the parade on Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, at 10:00 a.m., at Fifth Street by the World War I Monument. Immediately after the ceremony, the march will begin at 5th Street and will proceed up Broadway. It will pass the reviewing stand in front of American Legion Post 19 and will end at 32nd Street and Broadway.
The grand marshal of the parade will be Carlton Rhodes. In 1990, he served as President of Chapter 151 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. He has held the position of State Secretary-Treasurer of the Vietnam Veterans of America New Jersey State Council for 28 years. Mr. Rhodes served as Commander of VFW Post 7470 from 1983 to 1984, and Quartermaster of VFW Post 7470 from 1984 to 1989. He is the current Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 7470. His volunteer experience has included volunteering at the VA Lyons Hospital, the Chapel of Four Chaplains in Philadelphia, the Memorial Day Committee of Bayonne, and Faithful Navigator of the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus. Mr. Rhodes is a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Catholic War Veterans, the VFW, and the American Legion. Mr. Rhodes trained as an aircraft mechanic and an electrician. He was employed as a Maintenance Supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service.
Mayor Davis stated, “From the American Revolution to the present, more than 42 million Americans have served in our military during war. Of them, more than one million died in the service, whether in battle or elsewhere during wartime.” Mayor Davis concluded, “Veterans often remind us that ‘freedom is not free.’ That means that America’s fighting men and women have purchased our freedom with their sacrifices since 1775. We owe our freedom and our way of life to them. Please show your gratitude for those who gave their lives for our country by coming to the memorial ceremonies and to the parade.”
