Meet the 5 Grand Marshals of Connecticut's Veterans Parade

By Michael Dinan

Five Connecticut residents have been named Grand Marshals of the 2013 “Connecticut Veterans Parade," scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 3 in Hartford.

The 14th annual procession will step off at 12:30 p.m. near the Connecticut State Capitol Building and will march through Downtown. 

The parade takes place one week before the federal observance of Veterans Day on November 11 and is one of the nation’s largest salutes to veterans and is the biggest veterans parade in New England.

The 2013 Parade Grand Marshals are:

• Retired Master Sergeant Frank Alvarado of East Haven, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Connecticut Air National Guard, and currently the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Senior Area Manager for Greater Bridgeport and the SBA’s Veterans Officer for Connecticut;

• Major Linda Cunha of Newington, who commanded the Connecticut Army National Guard’s 142d Area Support Medical Company. The veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan currently serves as Executive Officer of the 118th Multifunctional Medical Battalion in Middletown;

“This spectacular parade honors the dedication and sacrifice of servicemen and women from all U.S. conflicts, and offers Connecticut residents the opportunity to come and say, ‘Thank You’ in person,” said Paul Pendergast, President of the Connecticut Veterans Parade Planning Committee, in a release. “The five 2013 Parade Grand Marshals are exemplary individuals who will lead approximately 3,000 veterans and musical bands at this very meaningful event.” 

Pendergast added that for the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Day Committee has recognized the Connecticut Veterans Parade as one of the nation’s official “Veterans Day Regional Sites." Only 56 sites in 35 states are being recognized this year with this prestigious honor and the parade is the sole 2013 Connecticut recipient, as it has been since 2010.

U.S. veterans are encouraged to register now to march or ride in the November 3 parade. Any Connecticut resident who is an active, retired or honorably discharged member of the U.S. Armed Forces including commissioned officers, warrant officers and enlisted personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard or Reserves are welcome to participate. 

Parade organizers also seek veterans groups, patriotic commissions, local municipalities, marching bands and drill teams from colleges, high schools and middle schools, and bagpipe & drum corps and fife & drum corps from all over the state.

Special event features will include a Wreath-Laying Ceremony to remember veterans at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch at 11:30 a.m., one hour before the parade begins. 

Ceremonial cannon blasts will kick of the parade at 12:30 p.m., and they also will conclude the 1:30 p.m. Moment of Silence, when parade marchers will stop in-place for a Moment of Silence in observance of service members who died while serving their country. 

A tolling of church bells and singing of the National Anthem also marks the conclusion of the Moment of Silence. 

Parade volunteers will hand out American flags to spectators, and sell 2013 commemorative parade lapel pins. Parade organizers are seeking scores of volunteers to help with a variety of responsibilities, before and during the parade. 

To register to march or volunteer in the 2013 Connecticut Veterans Parade or learn more about becoming a parade sponsor, visit www.ctveteransparade.org or call the Parade Info Phone at 860-986-7254. Facebook: Connecticut Veterans Parade, and Twitter: CTVetsParade.