By Lisa Carolin
Memorial Day is Monday, May 30, and Ray Tuck is looking for volunteers who would like to get involved with the Chelsea Memorial Day Parade.
The parade begins at 10 a.m. sharp, and everyone is invited to follow parade participants to Oak Grove Cemetery where Sgt. Jeff Gunnis, former US Army artillery, will speak.
Tuck is organizing an event in the parade called the 50-flag salute to thank veterans and military personnel for their service. He needs 50 volunteers to hold flags on the sidelines of the parade.
If interested in being a flag volunteer, you need to arrive by 8:45 a.m. on East Middle Street between East Street and the cemetery, and he asks that volunteers, “dress in the spirit of the day.”
The parade route proceeds south on Main Street to Park Street and ends at Oak Grove Cemetery.
“I need 50 people to hold these flag poles on Middle Street during the parade,” said Tuck. “There is a way the flags will be displayed and put out in a two by two tilt in a domino effect down all 25 flags on both sides of the street.”
Volunteers will stand at the parade holding a 10-foot flag pole for all to see when they walk by. Tuck will also have hundreds of hand held flags that need to be passed out that day.
Tuck, who lives in Ypsilanti, visits a different city every year to pay tribute on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
He explained, “Three years ago I was trying to think of a way to show our Veterans how much we care about what they have done to keep us safe and free. With all that is going on in this crazy world right now, we need to show them we are here for them, we support them, and we will stand next to them through thick and thin.”
You can contact Tuck at [email protected] and visit his Facebook page.
Do you still need help holding flags or giving the flags
away. Are the flags heavy? Joyce 475-9868
You’d need to contact the gentleman in the story putting this effort together to find out.
I would love to pass out flags.
Please let the organizer know.