On Thursday, May 23 at noon, the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) is sponsoring a golf tournament at the Heritage Golf Course in Pawleys Island. Pre-registration is required.
As a way to give back to the community, the Myrtle Beach Vet Center is holding a Community Picnic on Friday, May 24 at 11am on 21st Avenue and Robert Grissom Parkway. There will be a ceremonial flag presentation as well as food and drink.
The most well-known celebratory event, the Myrtle Beach Military Parade, will be held this year on Saturday, May 25, when fifty vehicles and floats will traverse down Howard Avenue in the Market Common amidst throngs of bystanders.
“It’s a very patriotic parade,” Chris says. “And very well attended.”
Each year, the committee selects two grand marshals for the parade— one celebrity and one local veteran. The grand marshals highlight the event and inspire people to attend and show their support.
Previous grand marshals included veterans: Montell Williams, the TV personality; J.R. Martinez, who was on Dancing With the Stars; Rocky Bleier, a Pittsburgh Steeler in the ’80s; and John Glenn, the astronaut.
“This year we have a very special celebrity grand marshal: Kerri Thomas— an Army Ranger and U.S. Iraqi Veteran who is now a popular country music musician,” Chris says. “And we have a remarkable local grand marshal: 98-year-old U.S. veteran Treva Green, who will be chauffeured wearing her WWII nursing uniform.”
You can read the story of Treva Green’s experience during World War II in this month’s Celebrate Our Local Veteran Column.
The parade ends at Farrow Parkway, when the party shifts across the street to Grand Park for the family friendly Veteran’s Family Picnic. Both grand marshals will be at the picnic, greeting attendees and signing autographs.
The Blue Aces and the U.S. Air Force Band will be in attendance at both the parade and the picnic. Omar Shriners is sponsoring the picnic and will provide hamburgers and hot dogs for the public.
“There will be a large number of local veteran community organizations at the picnic,” Chris says, “including the Myrtle Beach Vet Center; Our American Legions; the VFW—Veterans of Foreign Wars; and the Blue Star Mothers.
The intention is to unite as a community— to gather together and show support for our veterans with services that can assist them and make them feel included and welcome in our society.”
On Monday, May 27 at 9am, on Memorial Day, there will be a Veterans March along the boulevard in Myrtle Beach. On this day of military commemoration, veterans gather and walk to the official Memorial Day Ceremony at the Convention Center at 11am. It is officiated by the Military Appreciation Committee, and sponsored by the committee and the City of Myrtle Beach.
“Doing this work, for me, it’s therapeutic,” Chris says. “It’s why I wake up in the morning— to make a difference in someone’s life. I’m honored and fortunate that I get to do the work that I do.”