The parade will be followed immediately by an open-street fair along Atlantic Ave. stretching from the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library to Houghton Park with music, food and vendors and a Vets Fest offering services to veterans and running to 3 p.m.

The 22nd annual parade's participants include two 100+ year old WWII veterans, honored as Centenarian Grand Marshals.

• Lt. Col. Sam Sachs, age 103, a WWII veteran who successfully piloted a glider into Nazi-occupied France, carrying machine guns, ammunition and eight U.S. soldiers. His glider took heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire but managed to land safely in a French farm area about two miles from D-Day's Utah Beach, "In those gliders, you were just like a pigeon up there," LTC Sachs said in a parade press release statement. LTC Sachs subsequently participated in another glider landing in the Netherlands near the end of WWII and sent on to serve in the Army reserves until his retirement 32 years later.

• Lt. Col. Guy Autore, age 104, a WWII veteran who served in the Pacific Theater, deployed to the Marshall Islands, Guadalcanal and the Philippines. A parade release says LTC Autore "still makes his bed military style, maintains all his service records, and regularly plays Scrabble."

The parade's Grand Marshal is Terry Geiling, president/CEO of the American Gold Star Manor in WLB (a senior retirement facility for women who lost sons/daughters in U.S. military service.) Mr. Geiling's military service includes deployments in the Western Pacific to support Naval activities in the South China Sea and Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam era and multiple submarine special operations in the Pacific from Australia to the Bering Straits. After leaving active duty, Terry Geiling remained active in the US Naval Reserve and served as commanding officer of Naval Reserve units in Hawaii.

The parade's Celebrity Grand Marshal is former Dodger Kenny Landreaux, part of the Blue Crew's 1981 World Series champion team (in which he caught the final out of the series.) Mr. Landreaux graduated from Compton's Dominguez High and attended Arizona State University.

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Following the parade, Atlantic Ave. from Houghton Park to the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library becomes an open-street fair, featuring music, food and vendors and closed to vehicles until 3 p.m. Visitors can enjoy live music, the Aquarium of the Pacific's "Aquarium on Wheels," LB's Animal Care Services Mobile Pet Adoption vehicle, a "ninja-style" obstacle course, great food, a beer garden, vendor booths, a Kid's Zone, and a "Vets Fest" section offering services for veterans with various resources and a Career Expo.

Sponsor Sponsor A stage at 60th/Atlantic will feature performances by Knyght Ryder, the San Andreas Sisters and The Rock Club, Music is the Remedy (the latter a non-profit group dedicated to improving the lives of veterans, at-risk youth and other groups through music instruction, education, and mentoring.) Performing at the Michelle Obama Library's learning garden will be D.N.A., a North Long Beach based band made up of 4 local youth, and Katie Jo & the Mijos. (Playing at the Michelle Obama Library Learning Garden)- Led by front woman Katie Jo Oberthaler, Long-Beach-based Katie Jo & The Mijos play bluegrass-infused honky tonk. Raised on the plains of Wichita, Kansas and trained on five-string banjo in the hills of Appalachia and seaside of Long Beach, Katie Jo has melded her windswept country roots with the breezy notes of the Southern California country scene. Sponsor The Vets Fest and open-street fair begins immediately after the 10 a.m. parade and ends at 3 p.m. Sponsor Sponsor Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to incumbent Long Beach officials, development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online. blog comments powered by Disqus Recommend LBREPORT.com to your Facebook friends: Follow LBReport.com with: Twitter Facebook RSS Return To Front Page Contact us: mail@LBReport.com

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