South Kingstown Town - RI recently issued the following announcement.
The South Kingstown Memorial Day Parade, sponsored by South Kingstown VFW – Washington County Post 916, will be conducted on Monday, May 30, 2022 beginning at 10:00 a.m. It will kick off on Holly Street in Wakefield, then turn south onto Main Street, and will conclude on High Street at Saugatucket Park. It will feature active and retired military men and women, Town leaders, community organizations, South Kingstown and Narragansett school marching bands and public safety agencies.
The Parade Committee is extremely pleased to bestow the honor of 2022 Parade Grand Marshals on Jeff Josefson and Ernie Cafolla.
Jeff Josefson enlisted in the United States Army In October of 1967. He took Advanced Training (A.I.T.) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as a heavy equipment operator. In 1968 Jeff was assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade, 36th Engineer Battalion, Company D at Vung Tau, Vietnam. Company D then moved to the Australian Base Camp at NUI-DAT to reconstruct and lengthen the runway to allow C-130 aircraft to supply the base. Upon completion of the airfield at NUI-DAT, Jeff and his Company returned to Vung Tau to assist with moving the Battalion to Ving Long, in the Delta region. In March of 1969 Jeff returned to the States and was assigned to Fort Stewart, GA. Before returning home to Rhode Island Jeff earned the rank of Specialist E-5.
Ernie Cafolla is 96 years old. He was born in South Kingstown in 1926 and, until moving to the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol four years ago, was a lifelong resident of South Kingstown. Ernie entered the United States Army at the end of World War II in 1945, at the age of 18 years old. He served for two years and was stationed in the Philippines and Korea.
Following the parade, a brief memorial ceremony will be conducted at Saugatucket Park on High Street beginning at approximately 11:00 a.m. Colonel William Babcock, US Army Retired, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. The Bishop Wallace Hazard of the Community Church of God, will offer the invocation and benediction. There will be musical performances by The Wakefield Concert Band, and the South Kingstown High School Band. The program will culminate with a memorial wreath laying at the Saugatucket Veterans Monument, and a memorial wreath toss into the Saugatucket River, followed by an Honor Guard Gun Salute and Taps.
The community is invited and encouraged to attend the parade and ceremony. For public viewing purposes, there will be no parking on Main Street from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Following the memorial ceremony, the public is invited to the Elks Lodge 1899, 60 Belmont Street, Wakefield, for refreshments. For weather-related questions, visit the town of South Kingstown website at www.southkingstownri.com. In the event the parade is cancelled due to weather, the Memorial Ceremony will take place at the South Kingstown Recreation Center, 30 St. Dominic Road, at 11am.
Original source can be found here.
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