Delco marks the Fourth with style and patriotism
COLLINGDALE » The borough of Collingdale celebrated 4th of July in a big way with a patriotic parade through town Wednesday morning. Floats, string band and fire trucks lined the route which started on McDade Boulevard and ended at Collingdale Park.
Preceding the grand parade was a wake-up motorcycle roll with over 80 cyclists from a number of groups including Vietnam Veterans Club of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Centurions, 2nd Brigade Motorcycle Club and the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club.
Following the parade there was a Community Day celebration with field events, free food and activities for the kids.
Grand marshals of the parade were Mayor Frank Kelly and World War II veteran Joseph Passaretti, who will be turning 100 years old on Aug. 13. Organizers presented Passaretti with a birthday cake at the celebration.
Passaretti has lived in Collingdale for 63 years when he moved he from Connecticut to work for Curtis Envelopes. He took part in five invasions in Europe and Africa as an artillery specialist handling 105 mm howitzer cannons.
“I didn’t do it alone, I had a lot of help,” joked Passaretti, who served in the 36th Infantry in the 133rd Field Artillery Regiment as a corporal.
“The toughest was the abbey. We were ordered not to shell it until they found it was clear of nuns,” Pasaretti said.
“It was hot,” Passaretti told the Daily Times in 2013 of his experiences in Africa and Europe. “It seemed like it was warm all the time.”
Passaretti’s job was to pull the trigger on a 105mm Howitzer, which shells had a range of nearly 7 miles. He said maybe that’s why he didn’t notice the colder temperatures when his division moved into Germany.
“When you are moving around and you are shooting, you just don’t feel the cold,” he said.
He was hit by shrapnel in the right shoulder and earned a Purple Heart.
“It’s OK, now,” he said. “There is no damage to it now.”
“We didn’t wear ear plugs. There was a lieutenant who would tell you the position you needed, then a sergeant would set the sites, then I would pull the trigger,” Passaretti said. “That ruined my ears.”
Asked about his feelings about the Fourth of July, he said, “This is what we fought for. I like the fireworks but they aren’t as loud as those howitzers.”