'A commemoration': Why the Moosup VJ Day Parade remains one of the last in US
PLAINFIELD — About 62 years ago, a small group of local Korean War veterans from American Legion Post 91 in Moosup begin discussing the best way to honor their military brethren who fought — and in many cases died — during the previous decade’s world conflict.
“They wanted to do something for those World War II veterans, the ones who survived and the ones that didn’t,” said Jeff DeClerck, immediate past state commander of the American Legion.
Out of those conversations was borne the village’s annual VJ Day Parade, one of only a handful of such events still taking place and the only one sponsored by the veterans’ organization.
The parade’s 62nd iteration will step off at 1:01 p.m. on Sunday from North Main Street/Route 14 and wind its way through sections of Moosup before ending at post headquarters on Prospect Street. A 2.29-mile section of Route 14 from Squaw Rock Road to Goshen Road in Moosup will be closed to traffic, with all traffic diverted at these two points.
It’s not clear why those veterans chose V-J, or Victory over Japan, Day as the parade’s moniker, but Archie Lapierre, a parade committee member since 1967, suspects it was simply to pay tribute to those service members who fought in the war’s brutal Pacific Theater.
What is VJ Day?
V-J Day commemorates the Japanese government’s unconditional surrender to Allied forces in August 1945. V-J Day was once widely celebrated in America, but in the decades since the conflict ended, the holiday’s popularity has waned. Only Rhode Island officially recognizes the occasion as a state holiday.
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“It’s not a celebration, but a commemoration,” DeClerck said from the legion’s Michael Guty Memorial Hall, named for a Canterbury World War II veteran. “It’s right there in our group’s constitutional preamble: ‘To preserve the memories and incidents of our association in all wars.’”
DeClerck said he’s never been formally asked to change the event’s name.
How does Moosup celebrate VJ Day?
The parade bears few, if any, references to the day it’s named for. With its marching bands, waving politicians and large contingent of veteran participants, the event is strikingly similar in tone and execution to any small-town Memorial Day or Veterans Day parade.
“We have scouting, local businesses and community groups, along with people collecting donations for the Project PIN (food pantry) out there, as well as members from American Legion and VFW posts from across the state,” DeClerck said.
Crowd levels fluctuate year to year, with the weather playing a big role in how many attendees stake out shaded sidewalks or situate folding chairs and blankets in prime viewing spots.
“The biggest one we had was a few years ago when we honored the ‘Greatest Generation’ of World War II veterans,” DeClerck said. “The parades typically take about an hour-and-a-half or two hours, but that one went for more than three hours.”
LaPierre, a U.S. Army veteran, has never marched in the parade as he's too busy every year with coordinating the various local and out-of-town groups set to march.
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“We raise money all year long for this, through our golf classic, Lenten fish dinners and from anonymous donors,” DeClerck said. “The money goes to pay for bands like the Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps and other professional bands, as well as for the fly-over.”
DeClerck and Lapierre attribute the event’s longevity to a deep local sense of patriotism and the commitment of his group's members.
“If you look, you’ll see young kids out there saluting and waving the flag – this has always been a patriotic community,” said DeClerck, a U.S. Navy veteran. “And after every parade ends, someone always comes up asking if we’re going to continue doing it.”
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: One of the last VJ Day parades in the country is in Plainfield CT
