Forest Hills Memorial Day Parade's Grand Marshals Named

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — A Forest Hills-born Army Major who worked alongside first responders during 9/11 and who helped train the Afghan National Army will lead the neighborhood's Memorial Day parade.

Major Michael Dunne was named one of Sunday's event's grand marshals. The parade will kick off at the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Ascan Avenue at noon with marchers making their way down to Remsen Family Cemetery.

Dunne completed the Army Senior ROTC program while attending St. John's University in Queens and received his officer's commission in 1987. His career saw him work with the city's first responders during the blizzard of 1996, the 9/11 attacks and more. Between May 2005 and 2006, he served in Afghanistan as a trainer to the Afghan National Army. In 2016, he became a member of the Forest Hills/Rego Park Community Emergency Response Team.

Organizers also named Michael Perlman as another grand marshal.

Perlman, whose family has lived in Forest Hills for five generations, wrote the book “Legendary Locals of Forest Hills and Rego Park” in 2002, in which he praises the accomplishments of around 200 of local celebrities.

In 2006, the neighborhood's centennial, he founded the Rego-Forest Preservation Council to preserve the architectural and cultural history of the neighborhood. He received the Historic Districts Council 2014 Grassroots Preservation Award for his efforts to revive Forest Hills Stadium for entertainment purposes and he recently had a mural honoring Forest Hills' historical figures painted under the Ascan Avenue railroad overpass.

The grand marshal announcement was first reported by the Forest Hills Times.

Lead image via Andrew Kunkel/Flickr