OLD LYME–Old Lyme’s Memorial Day Parade is brought to you by two behind-the-scenes guys named Tony.
The annual tradition, marked by the rumble of a military C-130 airplane overhead and hundreds of marchers pounding the Lyme Street pavement, has been mustered for years by Old Lyme Fire Department members Tony Hendriks and Tony Vallombroso.
On this coming Monday, May 26, at 11 a.m., the parade route will fill with participants from more than 30 local organizations on their trek from the Old Lyme Fire Department headquarters to the Duck River Cemetery for a ceremony hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1467.
In separate phone interviews this week, Hendriks said he has been leading the organizational aspects of the parade for roughly three decades while Vallombroso recounted coming on board in 2012.
Positions in the parade and at the ceremony are carefully mapped by Hendriks, a land surveyor by profession.
The duo’s work entails “a lot of things that people really don’t see,” according to Vallombroso. Tasks range from filing paperwork for the military flyover, to mailing out invitations, to ordering flowers from Old Lyme Landscape in the form of bouquets placed in firefighters’ ceremonial trumpets and a wreath laid at the ceremony.
Vallombroso described the parade as relatively short. It takes about a half hour from its start at the Lyme Street fire station to the cemetery finish.
“It takes a lot longer to plan it than it does to execute it,” he said. “But that’s okay.”
The work starts in January with one of the most labor-intensive aspects of the parade: securing the military flyover.
Vallombroso said the request must go through the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration to be approved as a mission. From there, paperwork gets picked up by the Connecticut Air National Guard.
Vallombroso’s own military service included 38 years in the National Guard before he retired in 2003. As one of the town’s Veterans Representatives, he acts as a liaison to help connect those who have served in the military with available resources at the state and federal level.
The flyover by the Air National Guard is complemented on the ground by vehicles from the Army National Guard under the coordination of Major General Francis J. Evon Jr., according to Vallombroso.
The parade coincides with the installation of 48 United States flags on Lyme Street, where they will remain until after Veterans Day. That’s when they’ll be cleaned, reassembled on the poles, and put away in preparation for the following year.
Vallombroso said he helped launch the flag program after the idea was broached several years ago by senior fire department member John “Mick” McCarthy. He credited the likes of then-First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder, Eversource Energy and the Old Lyme Historical Society for working together to make it happen.
“And McCarthy’s dream of flags down Lyme Street was able to be done,” he said.
Hendriks said his volunteer role involves mapping out arrangements for both the parade and ceremony. Then he has to make sure everybody’s in place.
The longtime organizer described the day of the event as a hectic one.
“There’s always something at the last minute,” he said.
He said he is actively searching for “new blood” to help organize the parade.
“I’m trying to retire,” he said. “But every time I leave the room, I get renominated.”
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker this week said the two Tonys will be difficult to replace.
“I am not sure if the residents of this town know how lucky we are to have Tony Hendriks and Tony Vallombroso,” she said. “Their dedication to this parade goes above and beyond our expectations.”
She likened the parade to a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting of idyllic, small town American life.
“It’s a good feeling day for this town,” she said.
She expressed hope that someone will step up to train as a replacement for Hendriks and Vallombroso before they choose to retire.
The men, for their part, ascribed their quiet service to hometown pride and patriotism.
Hendriks put it this way: “I’m just a humble servant of the town. Just helping out.”
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