Why the Gold Star Memorial Day parade?

Being born and raised in a classic small-town USA in rural Missouri, I always considered myself patriotic. I grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning as school began. My family regularly attended parades and celebrated the 4th of July.

I married and had 2 handsome sons. My husband and I raised our sons to be respectful of our country and our flag. They both attained the hard-earned rank of Eagle Scout. Our family was Americana personified. 

On July 11, 2012, our oldest son, US Army Specialist Sterling William Wyatt, was killed in action in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. At that moment, patriotism took on a whole new meaning for our family and friends. 

Columbia has had a rich tradition of honoring our military heroes at the “Salute to Veterans Parade”. This tradition ended in 2019 with the death of Mary Posner, the force behind the parade. 

Four Memorial Days came and went without recognition by our community. I asked myself “Why don’t THEY do something about Memorial Day?” It struck me on Memorial Day 2023: I was the “they” that needed to resurrect the Memorial Day Parade in our town. 

After making inquiries, I met with the Columbia Visitors and Business Bureau. They had been waiting for someone to “step up to the plate”. I pitched the idea of changing the parade name to the GOLD STAR MEMORIAL DAY PARADE. 

Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember, honor and recognize those that have laid down their lives while in service to our great country. When a family loses a family member while in service to our country, the family becomes a Gold Star family. Thus, the reason for changing the name of the parade to the Gold Star Memorial Day Parade is to recognize the sacrifice of our loved ones’ deaths and to remember, honor and recognize them for their service to our great country.

I am asking for your support in the effort to create the Gold Star Memorial Day Parade for our community. Let this be a reminder to never forget that our freedom is not free.