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05/24/2023 08:07 AMThe 77th annual Memorial Day Parade in North Haven will take place on May 27 and be sponsored by the American Legion Post 76. This year’s grand marshal is Bob Maturo, a Navy veteran and the commander of the Post since 2019.
Bob is excited to serve as grand marshal for the parade this year, and he will be another member of the Post 76 to lead the event that will once again honor those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice to defend the United States.
Bob says for a Post 76 member to be a commander such as himself and then be on their way to be grand marshal for the Memorial Day parade, the criteria are simple.
“We try to pick somebody that’s been doing a lot for the legion and the town,” says Bob, who has adhered to that principle since he joined the Post.
“I joined after I retired, and [was] something to do and serve the community.”
Bob’s military career was from 1968-1972, during which he served on the USS Yorktown in the North Atlantic Ocean. He was a yeoman in the Navy, performing administrative and clerical work and reporting directly to the captain of the ship.
“After we got back, we decommissioned the Yorktown, and I was transferred to a patrol squadron homeported in Brunswick, Maine. We flew P-3 Orion aircraft, which were anti-submarine. The two years I spent in Maine, I spent both winters in the Mediterranean. The first winter, we were in Rota, Spain…and did surveillance flights over the Mediterranean. Then the second year, it was in [Naval Air Station] Sigonella in Sicily.”
He remembers sitting along with his buddies at night, watching Mount Edna “glow” in the dark. Although it never erupted during his time in Sicily, the sight was too captivating to not view often.
Following his retirement from the Navy, Bob went on to be a district manager for several Wendy’s restaurants in several towns, including East Haven and Branford.
Bob is a long-time resident of East Haven but spends a lot of his time with Post 76 at its Church Street building adjacent to North Haven Town Hall. But like any other post in the American Legion Veteran’s Association, there are always events to make their presence recognized.
On this year’s National Day of Prayer, Bob and his fellow Post 76 members were invited to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the North Haven Congregational Church. Such activities will continue in 2023.
“We’re doing a number of events throughout the year. In the fall, we go to the North Haven Fair, and the Color Guard presents the colors and then raises the flag, opening the North Haven Fair. We go into the schools and meet the kids, tell them some of our experiences when we served,” Bob says.
Speaking of interacting with the town’s youth, the most recent activity by North Haven’s Post 76 was on April 22, with the annual Kids Walk fundraiser event. The Post represented one of several districts for the statewide event by other legion posts.
“100% of the money goes to Connecticut Children’s Hospital. Our district raised about $2,200, and the state [total] was over $11,000. Each district has a ‘Kids Walk,’ we’re in the second district. We walk around the green as many times as you want,” Bob says.
The North Haven Town Green is where the Memorial Day Parade will begin at 9 a.m., with a service to honor all veterans of past wars who are no longer alive. Bob says prayers will be said, a poem will be read by the North Haven town laureate, and a wreath will be laid at the memorial at Town Hall. Additionally, a student from North Haven High School will play the song “Taps” to musically honor veterans who have passed.
The parade will begin from the school at 10:30 a.m., and run onto Bailey Road, then north onto Maple Avenue, continuing down Church Street, and end at the corner of Church and St. John streets. Onlookers will be able to find seating along any of the parade’s routes.
A grandstand will sit on the green across from the legion building and Town Hall for the ending part of the parade, complete with the high school’s marching band playing a handful of patriotic songs, the Governor’s Foot Guard, and the Land Fife and Drums Corps.
Bob reflects on what it means for him to be this year’s grand marshal, overseeing a celebration for veterans.
“[It’s] the honor of being recognized for the service that I’ve done, plus the service I’ve done for the post.”
The Memorial Day Parade will be broadcasted live on NHTV: Comcast channel 18 or 1070, Frontier channel 6051, and on Facebook at facebook.com/MyNHTV.