MEMORIAL DAY
A star-spangled Memorial Day march
Monday’s Little Neck-Douglaston parade celebrates anthem and D-Day anniversary
Shown from left to right: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Superintendent Rear Admiral Jack Buono; American Legion Post 103 Commander Sebastian D’Agostino; and U.S.
Navy Lieutenant Mark C. Bristol. Photos courtesy of Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade Committee
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The biggest Memorial
Day parade in the country
is back for its 92nd year and
will commemorate several
significant anniversaries in
American history.
On Monday, May 27,
event organizers invite the
community to the 2019 Little
Neck-Douglaston Memorial
Day Parade. This year’s
theme is “What so proudly
we hail” in recognition of the
205th birthday of the “Star
Spangled Banner” poem that
became our national anthem.
The volunteer-led parade
will also observe the 75th
anniversaries of D-Day in
Europe and Saipan, which
was the first Japanese island
invaded in the Pacific.
This year’s grand marshall
is U. S. Merchant Marine
Academy Superintendent
Rear Admiral Jack Buono.
Prior to his appointment as
superintendent, Buono was
president and CEO of SeaRiver
Maritime, Inc., a Texasbased,
ExxonMobil marine
subsidiary. He also chaired
the Board of International
Marine Transportation
Limited in Great Britain
and the ExxonMobil Global
Marine Center.
American Legion Post #
103 Commander Sebastian
D’Agostino is the 2019 man
of the year. The Bayside
Hills resident is the director
of the parade association
and has been a member of
the American Legion since
2000. During his military
career, he served as as a
Private First Class in First
Army Quartermaster Corps,
earned a black belt in Judo
and ran a weapons room as
Company Armorer.
The woman of the year
is Mary “Marie” Stock, a
Little Neck resident and
parade stalwart. Stock first
became involved in the
parade back in the mid-1970’s
when her husband Joe was
asked to help reinvigorate
the parade for the 1976
American Bicentennial. The
Stocks’ work for the parade,
along with other dedicated
volunteers, helped to provide
a strong foundation
Parade stalwart Mary “Marie” Stock will ber honored at this year’s
march.
and reputation for the
yearly event.
The Rotary Club of
Flushing will receive the
Community Service award.
Members of the club, which
include local business people,
secured a new transportation
van for Ronald McDonald
House of Long Island, so that
families of patients living at
the organization’s facilities
have the means to visit their
loved ones.
Rotarians will officially
present the van’s keys at the
reviewing stand following
the van’s appearance in
the parade.
U.S. Navy Lieutenant
Father Mark C. Bristol,
Army Vietnam Veteran and
Post 103 Vice-Commander
Tom Dinegar, former U.S.
Marine Stu Jensen and Army
veteran and Soviet escapee
Jeff Vonseidman will serve
as parade marshalls.
The parade begins at 2
p.m. on Monday and runs
along Northern Boulevard
from Jayson Avenue to 245th
Street. For more information,
visit lndmemorialday.org.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at (718)
224-5863 ext. 214.
Spectators at the 2018 Little Neck-Douglaston Parade
TIMESLEDGER,20 MAY 24-30, 2019 QNS.COM
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