Police Officer Michael DePalma, an Army veteran and the grand marshal of Wednesday’s annual Hoboken Memorial Day Parade, said that defending the country and its people has been second nature.
“I was always a person that was protective,” he said last week. “Even as a kid, when someone around me was getting bullied, I was the one by their side trying to help. I wanted to help make a difference.”
DePalma joined the Army Reserves in 1991 while he was at St. Peter’s College.
Wednesday, he and other veterans marched in what was the 120th Annual Memorial Day Parade in this city, the oldest continuous parade in the state of New Jersey.
It began at City Hall and marched up Washington Street to The Elks Lodge at Tenth and Washington Street.
DePalma, who grew up in Hoboken but now lives in Wyckoff, marched with his twin 7-year-old children, Ryan and Sofia.
“It’s very special for me to get to spend time with them doing something like this,” said DePalma. “They never saw me in that military capacity, so it’s going to be special day for them and me.”
While DePalma served in the Army reserves in the 1990s, in 2005, he received a letter reactivating him for duty and notifying him he would be deployed to Iraq.
He served overseas from 2005 to 2006 in an infantry division during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served with the 3rd Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division.
He said people from Hoboken were an “incredible” support system.
He recalled one time in particular when another soldier told him he had a package. He had received “cases and cases of Twizzlers,” his favorite candy. “We had boxes of them all over the base camp,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize hearing from home and stuff is really so important.”
Since returning home, he joined American Legion Post 107, and he recommends other soldiers do the same.
“The American Legion is full of heroes,” said DePalma. “They understand what it’s like because they were in a similar position.”
Of being this year’s grand marshal, DePalma said he hesitated.
“I don’t think what I did was any better than anyone else,” said DePalma. “I did my job. That’s it.”
DePalma said Memorial Day for some is about barbeques and beach days, but it needs to also be a day of remembrance.
“It’s a day to remember and honor anyone who was in the military who defended this country and those that made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said adding that it should also be a day to honor their families and supporters.
Marching up the main street
Bands and Junior Reserve Officers Training Corp (JROTC) programs from high schools across the area marched in the parade, including The Hoboken Redwings district marching band, Hawthorne High School marching band, Memorial High School marching band, Union City High School marching band, Lincoln High School JROTC, William Dickinson High School JROTC, and more.
Veterans from American Legion Post 107 and Elks Lodge 74 were also in the parade.
City government officials waved to the crowd including Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro, Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and Hoboken City Council members, along with members from the Hoboken Police Department, Hoboken Fire Department, and the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
Local children’s organizations enjoyed the summer evening as they walked up Washington Street, including local Brownies, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scout troops, Cheer Dynamics, and students from Hoboken Dual Language Charter School.
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.
