Manchester parade set for Monday

MANCHESTER – Two decorated Vietnam War veterans are to serve as marshals for the Manchester Memorial Day Parade, set for Monday.

The parade will step off at 9:30 a.m. at the Army & Navy Club, 1090 Main St. Marchers should assemble at 8:45 a.m. at the club,

The parade marshal is U.S. Army veteran Spec. 5 Andrew P. Ruganis, who served from 196672. After basic training, the Manchester native was trained as a medic and served in the 55th Medical Group in Qui Nhon, Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, parade spokeswoman Sandra Cappellucci said.

The honorary parade marshal is U.S. Army veteran Sgt. Richard Fitzgerald. Wounded in combat in Vietnam, Fitzgerald was awarded the Purple Heart, Cappellucci said. He has been an active member of the American Legion for 20 years and serves as finance officer for the local post. Fitzgerald lives in Manchester with his wife, two sons and a daughter.

The parade ceremony’s keynote speaker is Lt. Col. Lesbia Nieves, who has served with the Connecticut Army National Guard since1987. Nieves is a board member and co-president of the Connecticut State Veterans Memorial Inc. (www.cthonorsvets. org).

She also is a life member of the VFW, a member of the American Legion, the Women Veterans’ Memorial and the American Veterans’ Association (AMVETS) and a past President of the Hispanic American Veterans of Connecticut. Nieves and her husband have three children and live in Manchester.

Parade chaplains will be Rabbi Randall J. Konigsburg from Temple Beth Shalom B’nai Israel and the Rev. Dan Whitney of Church of the Nazarene.

Parade highlights will include the Manchester Pipe Band, Clan Ross Pipe Band, Manchester High School and Illing Middle School marching bands, the Governor’s Foot Guard marching unit and members of the 102nd Infantry, Bravo Company, Connecticut National Guard.

The parade will head up Main Street, turn east on Center Street, then west at Munro Park, ending at Center Memorial Park on Main Street for a program honoring fallen service members.

Members of the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church will sing two patriotic songs in Center Memorial Park. Also, wreaths will be laid at each monument along the parade route, with an honor guard rifle salute at each monument. A battery will fire 12 cannon volleys along the parade route.

If the parade is cancelled due to rain, the ceremony will be held in the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church, 745 Main St., at 11 a.m.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@ courant.com.