Queens Hosts 11 Memorial Day Parades This Weekend

The Woodside zip code – 11377 – lost more native sons during the Vietnam War than any other area in the United States. Many other neighborhood residents made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country over the past centuries, and 34 individuals who lived or worked in Woodside died during the Twin Tower terror attacks on September 11, 2001.

On Monday, members of the John V. Daniels VFW Post 2813 will honor veterans by placing a wreath at the flagpole at John Vincent Daniels Square near Roosevelt Avenue and 52nd Street at 11 am. Also, after a 10 am mass, the St. Sebastian War Veterans group will host a parade that kicks off from the St. Sebastian School parking lot at Woodside Avenue and 57th Street.

That’s only part of it. Queens has about 55,000 veteran residents, more than any other borough in New York City. It also hosts the country’s biggest Memorial Day parade (in Little Neck/Douglaston). Here’s a list of local parades scheduled for this weekend.

• Broad Channel, May 24, 1 pm, line up at Rock N Roll Bagel, 2010 Cross Bay Boulevard. Event starts with wreath-laying at 17th Road Park Flag Pole and ends at George Riekers Veterans Memorial Park. Honored guests are veterans from St. Albans Hospital and the American Legion.
• College Point, May 24, 2 pm, from 26th Avenue and College Point Boulevard to Hermon A. Macneil Park by the water. The grand marshal is Louis A. DiAgostino, who received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the Korean War.
• Forest Hills, May 24, noon, starts at Ascan and Metropolitan Avenues, proceeds to Trotting Course Lane with a ceremony at Remsen Cemetery. The grand marshal is Roland Meier, president of the West Side Tennis Club.
• Howard Beach, May 25, 11 am, starts and ends at Coleman Square between 159th Road and 159th Avenue. Mass at 9:30 am at Our Lady of Grace Church, 101st Street and 159th Avenue.
• Laurelton, May 25, 9 am, from Francis Lewis and Merrick Boulevards to the Veterans Memorial Triangle, 225th Street and North Conduit Avenue. Featured performers are the Queens Area Pathfinders Marching Band and the Black and Gold Marching Elite Band.
• Little Neck/Douglaston, May 25, 2 pm, from Northern Boulevard between Jayson Avenue and 245th Street to the parking lot of St. Anastasia School, Northern Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. Brigadier General Loree Suton is the grand marshal. Real estate expert Carl Mattone is the event’s man of the year, while TV chef Lidia Bastianich is the woman of the year.
• Maspeth, May 24, 1 pm, from Walter A. Garlinge Memorial Park, 72nd Street and Grand Avenue, to the Frank Kowalinski American Legion Post 4 and Knights of Columbus on 69th Lane, where there’s a memorial service at 2 pm. The grand marshals are World War II veterans James Desio and William Aronowicz.
• Middle Village, May 25, 9:30 am, begins with mass at St. Margaret Church, Juniper Valley Road and 80th Street, ends with wreath-laying at the Gray Street Monument, near 77th Street and 66th Road.
• Ridgewood/Glendale, May 25, 11 am, from Glendale Memorial Triangle (Myrtle and Cooper Avenues) to Ridgewood Veterans Triangle (Myrtle and Cypress Avenues).
• Whitestone, May 25, noon, starts at Whitestone Memorial Park, 149th Street and 15th Drive and proceeds on 12th Avenue.

Photo by Whitestone Memorial Day Parade