104-year-old WWII veteran Jack Jones leads Sterling Heights' 2025 Memorial Day parade
First came a thrilling flyover by a historic Tuskegee Airmen World War II aircraft. Then came 104-year-old WWII veteran Jack Jones, who led this year's Sterling Heights Memorial Day parade as grand marshal.
Jones enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served as a medical assistant aboard the USS Meriwether throughout the Pacific campaign until the end of WWII.
Sterling Heights celebrated Memorial Day on Monday, May 26, with its 46th annual ceremony and parade, featuring Jones — a resident of the city. He kickstarted the parade while cruising down Utica Road in the back of a bright red convertible, drawing applause from a crowd that stretched for nearly two miles.
'The Sterling Heights Memorial Day Ceremony and Parade is one of our city's signature events and has earned a reputation as one of the most meaningful and well-attended in the region,' said Mayor Michael Taylor in a news release ahead of the event. 'Memorial Day isn't just a long weekend — it's a time to honor the sacrifice and courage of the men and women who served our nation."
This year's parade theme was 'We Are One: Honoring Our Past, Uniting Our Future.' Alongside veterans, the event featured community groups, high school marching bands, floats, clowns, muscle cars, motorcyclists and more.
Families lined the sidewalks to watch all the action as children scrambled for candy tossed by parade volunteers. Eight-year-old twins Spencer and Oliver St. Mosley, attending for the first time, said their favorite parts were the candy and the loud cars revving their engines.
"My good friend's grandpa is the grand marshal this year, Jack Jones, so we didn't want to miss seeing him in the parade," said their mom, Susan St. Mosley of Lake Orion, who came with her husband and kids.
Not too far behind the convertible carrying Jones, a photograph of his late wife, Vera Rose Matthew — one of the original Rosie the Riveters — was carried by one of about 30 tribute Rosies marching in the parade. For the first time, around 10 of those tribute Rosies were Girl Scouts.
Jones and Matthew had been married for 77 years when she died at age 96.
More: Silence and prayers mark Lansing's Memorial Day ceremonies at Evergreen, Mt. Hope cemeteries
Frances Masters, a living true Rosie who worked at the Willow Run Bomber Plant during the war, also attended and participated in the event.
Bette Kenward, vice president of the American Rosie the Riveter Association and granddaughter of an original Rosie, Marion Hely Chapin, emphasized the importance of honoring the women who stepped up while men were away at war.
"My mission is to make sure that every single Rosie, whether she's living or has passed away, is honored for their great effort and what they did for our country. We would not have won the war without these ladies," Kenward said. "We need to celebrate each and every single one of them and make sure their legacy stays alive."
"It was their patriotism, not empowerment, that got them where they are, but all of us have been empowered because of their patriotism," she added.
The parade kicked off from Dodge Park at 10 a.m., continued through the roundabout and headed south along Dodge Park Road. It ended just before 16 Mile Road.
For many attendees, the event served as both a moving tribute and a way to pass down the meaning of Memorial Day to the next generation.
"We've lived in Sterling Heights for almost five years, and this is our first time at the parade," said Gabriell Welsh, whose 5- and 7-year-old kids also walked in the parade. "It's really cool to start something that we can carry traditionally in honoring our veterans. We have family that served in the armed forces, and so it's just a great way to get to teach (our kids) how to honor them."
Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sterling Heights Memorial Day parade led by 104-year-old WWII veteran
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