Editor’s note: The press release was provided by Pelham Post No. 50 of the American Legion.

The Town of Pelham and Pelham Post #50 of the American Legion will once again be hosting the the Memorial Day Parade honoring those Pelhamite’s who lost their lives in America’s wars and conflicts.  This year’s parade, which continues a record going back over 100 years, will take place on Monday, May 27^th and kick-off from the Esplanade across from The Manor Club at 11:30am (groups in the parade should line up no later than 11:00am).

Led by the veterans of Pelham Post 50, the parade will, once again, contain contingents from the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps, with this year’s troops serving on the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, USS Hue City, the only U.S. Navy ship named after a battle in the Vietnam War. The parade will proceed down flag-bedecked streets from the Esplanade to Wolfs Lane and then through the Village of Pelham to Veteran’s Park on Fifth Avenue (next to Town Hall) where a Memorial Service will take place at 12:15pm.

During the Ceremonies at Veteran’s Park, Pelham’s Supervisor Peter DiPaola will be introduced as this year’s Grand Marshal. Supervisor DiPaola’s family moved to Pelham in 1952 where he attended Siwanoy School and where he later met and married his wife Julieta. Peter started his community involvement, as most do, as a coach for his children’s (Julie Marie, Peter and William) Little League and soccer teams, and was appointed a member of the Village of Pelham Manor Planning Board in 1991. He was elected Trustee in in 1993, Mayor in 2001, Town Councilman in 2004 and has been the Town Supervisor since his first election in 2011. He has also been a member or Rotary, PACT, and the Pelham Civics for over 35 years.  He is retiring at the end of this year from politics, but promises that he will still stay involved in what he calls “the finest community in Westchester.”

This year’s keynote speaker is Mr. Bob Shepherd, a Pelham resident with his wife, journalist Patricia Sagba, and daughter, and a veteran of nearly twenty-years service with the British 22^nd SAS Regiment. He is co-author of three books with his wife. Their first collaboration, “The Circuit,” was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller. They’ve also written two critically acclaimed novels: “The Infidel” and “The Good Jihadist.”

During his nearly twenty years of service with 22 SAS Regiment, Bob participated in the Dhofar campaign in Oman…1972-76, the Iranian Embassy siege in London…1980, The Falklands War…1982, the first Gulf War…91 and the Bosnia war…94. He left the Regiment in 1994 as a Warrant Officer and went to work on the international security circuit as an adviser to media, diplomats, VIPs and others.  Bob’s work in the private sector has taken him to some of the most volatile places on earth including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and many other countries. He is a regular media commentator on security issues and geopolitics, and has appeared on TV and radio internationally. He continues to author articles in newspapers and magazines. In addition to writing and lecturing, Bob continues to advise individuals operating in hostile environments.

The most solemn point of the ceremony will be an Honor Salute, the reading of the names of the 87 residents of Pelham who were killed in America’s wars from the Spanish American War to the wars continuing today in Afghanistan and Iraq and the playing of Taps.

Pelham Post 50 is asking anyone or any group who wishes to march to contact parade coordinator Joe Durnin at [email protected] or by text to 914 882-1425. The Post is also cordially inviting anyone who served or is serving today to join them in marching.