Groton man is Norwich Memorial Day parade marshal

A celebrated veteran and captain of the local Patriot Guard riders will be the grand marshal of the city?s Memorial Day parade later this month.

Jack Casey, of Groton, will lead the annual event that steps off at noon on May 27 from Chelsea Parade.

The announcement was first made last November, when Casey was named Veteran of the Year by Richard E. Hourigan VFW Post 594 in Norwich.

Chris Coutu, founder of Norwich-based American Warrior, said Casey is deserving of the honor.
?I think it?s a great decision. Jack has always been someone who goes out of his way to help veterans in general,? he said. ?It?s just an amazing commitment by him.?

Casey, 66, a Vietnam veteran and road captain for the local Patriot Guard Rider chapter, has become known across the region for scouring local town halls to find names of veterans not listed on plaques, local monuments and other memorials.

Since 2006, when the American Warrior program launched, Casey has worked to collect the discharge papers of veterans so their names could be included on war memorials in Washington, D.C.

?Some people who give a lot like that just like to be behind the scenes,? Coutu said.

In another Memorial Day related event, Otis Public Library will offer a screening of ?Slaughter?s Field: The 26th Connecticut Infantry Regiment and the Siege of Port Hudson,? a 25-minute documentary.

That takes place at 6 p.m. on May 29 and tells the story of the more than 800 men from Eastern Connecticut who fought in the Union Army regiment from November 1862 until August 1863. The story as a narrative poem and uses period photographs and drawings.

Source: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/communities/x522269609/Groton-man-is-Norwich-Memorial-Day-parade-marshal?rssfeed=true

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