Memorial Day Parade
Once again, The Martin Wallberg American Legion Post 3 will host this beloved tradition to honor America's heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. The parade will take place on Monday, May 29.
The day's events will begin with the traditional ceremony at 10:00 in Memorial Plaza to honor our fallen heroes. The parade will then process down East Broad Street and turn left on North Euclid, ending in Mindowaskin Park. The Westfield Police Department will then escort all participating veterans to Fairview Cemetery for the annual solemn service held there. Following the parade, all members of the public are invited for a gathering in Mindowaskin Park, and the American Legion will also host its annual barbecue with music and entertainment.
Event schedule details:
9:15 -- All parade participants to line up on North Avenue near Memorial Plaza
10:00 -- Memorial Day traditional solemn ceremony in Memorial Plaza
10:45 -- Parade begins down East Broad Street and proceeds left onto Euclid Avenue, ending at Mindowaskin Park
11:30 - 1:00 -- Community gathering in Mindowaskin Park with food and entertainment
12:00 -- Memorial Day service at Fairview Cemetery (1100 E Broad Street)
2:00 - 5:00 -- Picnic with live music and entertainment at the American Legion Hall (1003 North Avenue)
For additional information, contact James McDonald at jamesmc150@gmail.com or 612-910-4100. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Joe Mindak at 201-410-8282 or joe@theconnective.me.
2023 Grand Marshal: Korean War Veteran Wally Lawrence Brown
Wally Lawrence Brown was born on Dec. 12, 1931 in Westfield. He attended McKinley and Roosevelt, followed by Westfield High School in the last year of its Elm Street location before graduating in 1951.
Upon graduation, he joined the United States Marine Corps. Wally trained at Parris Island in South Carolina and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, where he served as an administrator for the Motor Transport Battalion. From there he was transferred to Seoul, South Korea, where he served as an administrative assistant to the commander in the general fleet marine force, First Marine Division Pacific. He was fortunate to be selected to go to an Army School of stenography at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. Upon completion of his training there, he was transferred back to Korea, which is where completed his enlistment.
On his return to the U.S., Wally took a job with the IRS and attended college in the evening. In 1958, he returned to Westfield and worked for six years as a mailman before returning to the IRS as an internal tax auditor. He worked in that capacity and continued his education to the point where he became the first African American graduate of law enforcement from Rutgers and was assigned as a Special Agent in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service in New Jersey. He retired in 2000.
Wally is a member of the Centennial Elks here in Westfield. He has served as President of the Westfield Community Center and is presently serving as a Trustee. He has two children -- a daughter, Mylene Evette, who is retiring from the East Orange Board of Education, and a son, Lawrence W. Jr., who is currently disabled.
As part of the Black History Month exhibit this year at the Center for Creativity at the Rialto, Wally was celebrated as the oldest living African American from the first African American family in the Town of Westfield from the 1700s.
Westfield Veterans Banner Program
To commemorate Memorial Day, the Westfield Veterans Banner Program will be displaying the next round of banners to recognize our veterans and active duty military personnel. The banners will be displayed from Memorial Day through Veterans Day in a partnership between the Town and the Westfield Veterans Fund, a locally established 501(c)(3) organization. Phase 1 of this program was introduced last year on July 4, when the first round of banners was unveiled on poles adjacent to Monument Circle, along East Broad Street, North Avenue, and South Avenue.