MORRIS PLAINS — On Saturday, May 28, starting at 9:00 a.m., the Borough of Morris Plains will hold its annual Memorial Day service at Roberts Garden, at the corner of Glenbrook Road and Mountain Way.
The traditional memorial service, conducted by members of the Morris Plains VFW Watnong Post #3401 and Denville American Legion Post 390, will be followed by comments from special guest speaker Brigadier General William M. Boruff from Picatinny Arsenal.
Then at 9:30 a.m., the 36th Annual Memorial Day Parade will start near the intersection of Glenbrook Road and Mountain Way. The parade travels south on Mountain Way, east on Rosedale Avenue, then north along Speedwell Avenue, past the reviewing stand at the corner of Franklin Place, opposite the railroad station.
The parade then continues north up Littleton Road to Route 53 north where it ends at the VFW Watnong Post #3401.
In 2022, our Grand Marshal is Philip T. Wilk. He is being honored for having served for 50 years as a Morris Plains firefighter. He also is a retired police officer from the Morris Plains Police Department. Phil is joined by his son, Philip, and daughter, Megan in the Central Park Carriage.
The parade, the largest in Morris County, consists of 100 units representing local and county organizations with 16 bands including the Orange High School Marching Tornadoes Band, the Salaam Shrine Temple Oriental Band, the Rory O’Moore Pipe Band, the Denville String Band, and featured at the end of the Parade, the Morristown High School Marching Colonials.
Highlights of the parade will be an appearance by the Future Marines of RSS Northwest, the Mega Robot, and the Idaho Potato Truck that barely fits under the underpass.
Also, once again, The Golden Gup and Lulu will appear and play patriotic tunes while Korean War veteran Dudley Werner; 101-year-old veteran Walter C. Ness; and Mickey and Minnie Mouse accompany them.
And the VFW will host a post-parade gathering for all, with free hot dogs, soda, and beer–plus pony rides, a climbing wall, bounce-around, face-painting, and balloons, courtesy of the parade committee. (No parking at the VFW; please park at the ballfield or the Honeywell lot, just beyond the VFW.)
In case of bad weather, call (973) 538-0325 after 6:30 a.m. to check the parade status.
