DEARBORN, Michigan – The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council has moved its Veterans Family Day Picnic on Sunday, May 29 to Fort Dearborn American Legion Post 364 on 3001 South Telegraph Road in Dearborn.
The event is open to all veterans and will be held from 1 pm to 6 pm.
The move is necessary because of flooding at Ford Field Park, after heavy rains this week.
Local blues singer Curtis Sumter of the Curtis Sumter Project, who is known around town for his association with the Jaime Coe Band and The Reflections, is set to perform.
Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal Adrian Cronauer, the military DJ whose life inspired the movie Good Morning Vietnam! is scheduled to appear. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Actor Robin Williams portrays Adrian Cronauer in the movie Good Morning Vietnam. Adrian Croanauer is scheduled to appear at the gathering on Sunday and will be the Grand Marshal of the Parade on Monday.
In accordance with this year’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day Parade theme, the picnic, though open to all veterans, will be a belated “Welcome Home” party for those who fought in Vietnam.
Dearborn Allied War Veterans Commander Craig Tillman explained, “Vietnam veterans, unlike those who fought in other wars, never really got a welcome home party.”
He illustrated the hardships that Vietnam veterans faced upon their return home, and the general attitude that people had toward those who fought in the “On the plane ride home from New Jersey to Dearborn, I was talking to one of the prettiest girls I had ever met in my life. We were getting along fine, but the minute I said I was returning from Vietnam, it got real cold. ”
“This is the welcome home party we never got.”
The event will take place one day before the Memorial Day Parade, providing an enjoyable day for veterans and their families.
For more information, call Craig Tillman at 313.407.6568, or Committee Chairman Ray Wantuck at 248.330.5550.