Vets Appreciation Parade to Hit Black Horse Pike Saturday Morning

A parade to honor the area's military veterans and active troops, airmen and sailors will head north on the Black Horse Pike (Route 168) from Glendora into Runnemede this Saturday morning.

Organizers encourage Gloucester Township, Bellmawr and Runnemede residents to come out to show their appreciation for the veterans who live among us.

"They need to show up to support our troops," Kevin Bucceroni, a member of the parade organizing committee, said Thursday. "Our troops deserve the honor of having their presence."

The first-ever Black Horse Pike "Welcome Home Veterans Parade" will feature members of seven area Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts and a local Marine Corps League organization, according to Bucceroni.

The seven VFW posts are based in Blackwood, Erial, Glendora, Bellmawr-Crescent Park, Bellmawr, Runnemede and Winslow.

The parade will begin at 9 a.m. in Gloucester Township, at the war memorial at Eighth Avenue in Glendora, and end at Eighth Avenue in Runnemede, at the war memorial there.

Suffice it to say, you can expect to see lots of flag-waving, red-white-and-blue-clad men, women, and children along the Pike Saturday morning.

There will also be fire trucks, World War II-era military vehicles and lots of motorcycles, Bucceroni said, noting Warriors' Watch Riders, a group that escorts military personnel home from airports after overseas tours, and Gloucester Township Easy Riders motorcycle clubs are both slated to participate.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops from the three host towns, a marching band consisting of students from Highland, Timber Creek and Triton high schools, and Bellmawr Fire Department will also be among the 19 total participating community groups.

Marine Corps Lt. Col. Alfred Bancroft, of the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs, will serve as emcee of the ceremony that will be held at the Runnemede war memorial to close the veterans' celebration. A government official from each of the three host towns will offer brief remarks during the ceremony, Bucceroni said.

VFW New Jersey Commander Earl Courter is expected to participate in the parade.

Organizers began discussing and putting together the parade shortly after President Obama declared an end to the war in Iraq last October.

Bucceroni, vice president of Black Horse Pike Regional School District Board of Education, announced the parade date and route at Gloucester Township Council's May 30 meeting.

Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer encourages residents "to personalize signs thanking the veterans for their service and sacrifice to protect our freedom."

The parade and closing ceremony are expected to last about three hours.

Rain date is Sunday, June 24. As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service was calling for a "slight chance" of showers and thunderstorms before 2 p.m. Saturday, with a high of about 88 degrees.