The Flag Day Parade likely drew as many as 50,000 people to the city Sunday afternoon.
“I believe everybody in the City of Troy came to see it,” said Edward Manny, a organizing member of the Flag Day Committee. “The Flag Day Parade was more impressive this year than it was the last three years.”
The parade was begun as an effort to remind citizens about the sanctity of the country's symbol, but that was hardly the only reason people from across the region were drawn to Troy for the parade, in its 46th year.
Rita and Gary Lewandowski came down from Malta for the parade, as they have done annually for the past 10 years. While the bands, the floats and the marchers are a hoot, Gary enjoys seeing the crowds of people who gather just as much. “I enjoy watching the little kids having a good time,” he explained. Children were present in droves at the Sunday event, many of them reaching past the barriers to dive for candies being thrown from the floats.
“The flag is very important to us — it's our country!” said Gary. It is also important to the soldiers who fight for the country, he noted. “Our men in uniform, our women in uniform — they follow the flag and we follow the flag. Everybody follows the flag. It's our flag.”
The importance of the flag was very immediate for Donald Trela, of Watervliet, who fought under the flag in the Korean War. He and his wife, Sigrid, have been attending the parade for the past 40 years.
“They used to have four or five construction trucks and that was at nighttime,” said Donald, recalling past parades.
“I believe everybody in the City of Troy came to see it,” said Edward Manny, a organizing member of the Flag Day Committee. “The Flag Day Parade was more impressive this year than it was the last three years.”
The parade was begun as an effort to remind citizens about the sanctity of the country's symbol, but that was hardly the only reason people from across the region were drawn to Troy for the parade, in its 46th year.
Rita and Gary Lewandowski came down from Malta for the parade, as they have done annually for the past 10 years. While the bands, the floats and the marchers are a hoot, Gary enjoys seeing the crowds of people who gather just as much. “I enjoy watching the little kids having a good time,” he explained. Children were present in droves at the Sunday event, many of them reaching past the barriers to dive for candies being thrown from the floats.
“The flag is very important to us — it's our country!” said Gary. It is also important to the soldiers who fight for the country, he noted. “Our men in uniform, our women in uniform — they follow the flag and we follow the flag. Everybody follows the flag. It's our flag.”
The importance of the flag was very immediate for Donald Trela, of Watervliet, who fought under the flag in the Korean War. He and his wife, Sigrid, have been attending the parade for the past 40 years.
“They used to have four or five construction trucks and that was at nighttime,” said Donald, recalling past parades.
Closer to the stage, Vinny Perniciaro, who came attired in a black dress coat despite the Sunday heat, was there to show his support for the flag as a member of the country's armed forces. A city resident, Perniciaro has been an active member of the National Guard for the past three years and is stationed at the 206th Military Police Co. in Latham.
“I'm in the service, so I like to come out for these type of things,” said Perniciaro, who was present with a friend that is attending the Sage Colleges. He admitted that support for the military in the country is at low ebb. “We've been at war now for 12 years, so it's kind of hard.”
Asiri Gayawardena, who is attending the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, came to the parade with his wife Roshi. As he hails from Sri Lanka, Asiri said he does not any real relation to the flag, but had come to the parade because he appreciates the area's culture.
“I am not from this country, but as someone from outside I appreciate the culture, I appreciate the people and I appreciate the celebration of the flag as a major part of your cultural heritage,” he explained.
Making the parade possible for the thousands that came this year was a trial, as it has been for the past several years, said Manny, largely due to reductions in state and business funding, fewer donations from the participating organizations — many of them veteran's organizations whose primary membership is shrinking — and fewer individual donations due to widespread job losses.
“This year was worse than others,” said Manny. “One of the big reasons we lost a lot of money was because of sequestration.”
Due to the funding shortages, the U.S. Marine Corps Band from Paris Island could not attend. However, the parade committee was able to meet and exceed their goal of $10,000, although they were still in need of $3,000 less than a month before the parade.
“If we don't have enough money we can't hire the rights groups to come in and put this show on,” said Manny. “We are always worried that someday we're going to have to say, 'We're not going to degrade the flag, we're just going to stop it now.'”
Despite the funding shortages, Manny said the turnout was “more impressive this year than it has been in years past, and I thought it was going to be a bad year.”
History of the parade:
The city's Flag Day Parade was begun by the late James Pasinella, a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. One day in 1967, Pasinella was working at the U.S. Post Office in Troy on Broadway when a disturbance was heard on Fourth Street. He went outside to see what was happening and found a group of Vietnam War protestors burning the American flag. He was galled.
The next day, Pasinella and several of his co-workers put on a counter-protest by marching down Fourth Street with the stars and stripes held high — so began the Flag Day Parade in Troy.
“I am not from this country, but as someone from outside I appreciate the culture, I appreciate the people and I appreciate the celebration of the flag as a major part of your cultural heritage,” he explained.
Making the parade possible for the thousands that came this year was a trial, as it has been for the past several years, said Manny, largely due to reductions in state and business funding, fewer donations from the participating organizations — many of them veteran's organizations whose primary membership is shrinking — and fewer individual donations due to widespread job losses.
“This year was worse than others,” said Manny. “One of the big reasons we lost a lot of money was because of sequestration.”
Due to the funding shortages, the U.S. Marine Corps Band from Paris Island could not attend. However, the parade committee was able to meet and exceed their goal of $10,000, although they were still in need of $3,000 less than a month before the parade.
“If we don't have enough money we can't hire the rights groups to come in and put this show on,” said Manny. “We are always worried that someday we're going to have to say, 'We're not going to degrade the flag, we're just going to stop it now.'”
Despite the funding shortages, Manny said the turnout was “more impressive this year than it has been in years past, and I thought it was going to be a bad year.”
History of the parade:
The city's Flag Day Parade was begun by the late James Pasinella, a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. One day in 1967, Pasinella was working at the U.S. Post Office in Troy on Broadway when a disturbance was heard on Fourth Street. He went outside to see what was happening and found a group of Vietnam War protestors burning the American flag. He was galled.
The next day, Pasinella and several of his co-workers put on a counter-protest by marching down Fourth Street with the stars and stripes held high — so began the Flag Day Parade in Troy.
The next year, Pasinella was joined by four other organizations — the Italian Community Center, the Polish-American Club, the Emerald Athletic Club, and the Troy Elks Club — who donated their services and members. Those organizations still participate in the parade, but they have been joined by veteran's groups, various schools and numerous other organizations in the years since the parade's inception.
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