POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The annual Point Pleasant Beach Memorial Day Bike Parade seized advantage of a beautiful morning this Saturday, with hundreds of kids and families pedaling down Arnold Avenue.
Gathering at the parking lot on the corner of Lincoln and Arnold avenues, participants got their rides ready for action in picture-perfect Memorial Day weekend weather. Hundreds strong, the red, white and blue-clad parade proceeded east toward the ocean down Arnold Avenue, coming to an end at the park on the corner of Baltimore and Arnold avenues.
The parade was led by four grand marshals, all of whom are veterans of past wars. This year’s grand marshals were World War II veterans Fred Nungesser and Angelo Sciacca, Korean War veteran Lenny Forbes and Vietnam War veteran Peter Marino.
Bringing up the rear of the procession was the sea of bikes, atop which kids and adults of all ages rode down Arnold Avenue. One of these kids was Cora Mercado, 9, who explained the significance of Memorial Day.
“It’s important to remember Memorial Day to celebrate the lives of all the people who have died in all wars and our veterans,” said Cora. “We love to decorate our bikes and decorate ourselves with red, white and blue.”
Plenty of families took part in the annual tradition, too, including Maggie and Frank Trofa of Point Pleasant, the mom and dad of Tate, 3, and Ford, 2.
“This is our first year doing it,” said Maggie Trofa. “Our neighbors have always done it, and their kids are older — we wanted to start that tradition with our own kids. It’s a lovely morning to get outside and walk through town.”
“We’re only five minutes down the road, right over the bridge,” said Frank Trofa. “It’s good to do things like this where you feel like part of the community.”
At the end of the parade, a short ceremony was held to pay tribute to fallen soldiers and veterans of military service to the United States.
“It was lovely,” said McCartney. “William Duffy, with VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 8867 in Brick, helps us out. He spoke about young men (in the area) that had lost their lives in all the different wars, and read their names aloud. We also had Nancy DeVito, the national veterans service chair with the Elks Post 1698, who brought all the groups together, like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.”
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