Meet Vernon's 2025 Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal

VERNON, CT — Monday's Memorial Day parade in Vernon will honor a decorated and accomplished veteran who served on the international, national and local levels.

The 2025 parade grand marshal is Mike Gardner, a 26-year Navy veteran, Vernon native and former commander of the local American Legion Post.

During his time in the Navy, he served in combat aboard a mine sweeper during the Persian Gulf War. He was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

According to the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command, in the early 1980s, the development of a new mine countermeasures — or the MCM Force — included two new classes of ships and minesweeping helicopters.

"The vital importance of a state-of-the-art mine countermeasures force was strongly underscored in the Persian Gulf during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, and in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm," the Navy says.

The ships use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. They are also capable of conventional sweeping measures. The ships are of fiberglass sheathed, wooden hull construction, according to the Navy.

On Monday, Vernon’s Memorial Day parade is scheduled to step off at 9:30 a.m. at Northeast School. The parade then will proceed s short distance to Grove Hill Cemetery, where a ceremony to honor veterans takes place.

After the ceremony, the parade forms back up on Hale Street and continues from Hale Street to Grove Street, to East Main Street and into downtown Rockville. The parade wraps around Central Park in front of Vernon Town Hall. A Memorial Day observance then takes place at the veterans memorial in the park.

Connecticut Air National Guard C-130s are expected to fly over Rockville between 10:30 and 11 a.m., weather permitting.

The Rockville High School and Vernon Center Middle School bands will march in the parade, along with veterans, police, firefighters, scouts and others.