Lansingburgh to celebrate veterans on Monday
Annual parade to honor pair for military, community service
TROY, N.Y. >> The Veterans of Lansingburgh 21st annual Memorial Day Parade will step off Monday to honor those who served and sacrificed in the armed forces.
Originally funded by the city, the tradition was discontin-
ued decades ago due to financial constraints, but the Veterans of Lansingburgh brought the parade back in 1996 after a 19-year absence.
In recent years , the event has drawn t housands of cit y residents and visitors who line the sidewalks to see firetrucks, marching bands and other groups turning out to honor military members.
The parade will step off at 11 a.m. from 123rd Street and 5th Avenue, heading south on 5th to 115th Street, then west to Second Avenue, where marchers will head north, passing the reviewing stand on the east side of 2nd Avenue in front of the Standard Manufacturing Co
he march will be led by grand marshal J. Thomas Burtnick and honorary grand marshal Robert Patrick Sr.
Burtnick is a Lansingburgh native who served in the U. S. Navy from 1952- 55 before returning home to open Tom’s Barbershop on 5th Avenue, where he cut hair for 50 years.
He was also very active in the community, serving on the parade committee for Lansingburgh’s bicentennial celebration. Founding and coaching the swim team at what is now the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club, coaching the Troy Patriots Pop Warner Football team and Lansingburgh Little League and Lansingburgh Independent Basebal l teams.
He also served on the Lansingburgh Central School District Board of Education, is one of the original life members of the Veterans of Lansingburgh and is a past recipient of the Man of the Year honor handed out by the Friends of 112th Street.
Patrick is a Lansingburgh High School graduate who served in the U. S. Air Force from 1961- 64 before returning home to work for Ford Motor Co.
He joined the Veterans of Lansingburgh in 1984 and became a life member three years later, volunteering for more than 20 years as a cook, and as serving as a past director.
He is also a life member of the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club, where he volunteers every year for the group’s Harvest Brunch and Bingo games.
Patrick also coached Lansingburgh Independent Baseball and Troy Patriots Pop Warner Football teams and honored by the Veterans of Lansingburgh in 2006 as its Veteran of the Year in 2006 and is a past recipient of the Friends of 112th Street’s Humanitarian of the Year award.
U. S. Marine Corps veteran David Kissick will return this as parade announcer, while the lineup will include veterans organizations, youth groups, fraternal clubs, local political figures and the city’s police and fire departments.
They will be joined by bands i ncluding Brass- o-Mania, the Scotia Glenville Pipe Band, the Red Caps Marching Band, Avant Garde Alumni Drum Line and the Troy High School Band.