By Peter Sorkin
About 3,000 residents of College Point and the surrounding communities turned out Sunday morning to honor local veterans who marched in the Memorial Day Parade.
As Little League teams and high school marching bands walked alongside Army Humvees driving in low gear, adults and children flocked to MacNeil Park to witness the ceremonies at the end of procession. Among the politicians who showed up to honor the veterans were Queens Borough President Claire Shulman and U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Elmhurst).
Eleven marching bands and 10 floats, including a George Washington look-alike who drove by saluting and paying tribute to his adventure crossing the Delaware, participated.
Parade organizers estimated that about 3,000 onlookers lined the streets to watch the procession.
Veteran Franklin Wulp, who served as a Marine in World War II, and his wife Rita, who have lived in College Point for the past 27 years, were generally moved by the ceremonies but hope the younger generations can appreciate Memorial Day and what it stands for.
