By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Galveston County Marine Corps League, Detachment #668, is maintaining its 33-year tradition and providing a grand Fourth of July parade on the Seawall in Galveston.
The League was ordered to stand down in 2020 due to the pandemic. They were given a green light from the city of Galveston several months ago for Sunday’s parade. Reminiscent of the first fourth of July celebrations in 1776, the league will deliver their well-known high-energy, flag waving, keep your eyes on the show and listen to the band kind of parade.
In the parade’s infancy years, it took place on the Strand and wove in and out of downtown Galveston, entertaining 1,000-2,000 spectators with 30-40 entrants.
With up to 130 entrants, the current version of the parade marches, glides, stomps, and rolls down the Seawall, beginning at 57th Street and ending at 27th Street. Crowds watching the procession have reached as high as 250,000.
The parade begins at 7:00pm and ends right around 9:00pm.
“Visitors on the island for the 4th hear about a parade and they come down. Plus, the city puts on fireworks on the Seawall right after the parade,” said member Bruce Luersen, regarding the huge crowds.
The parade is the League’s way of celebrating America’s birthday and inviting people to participate in being patriotic as viewers or as participants. “On parade day, we have a lot of people show up who haven’t registered, some pedestrians along with people on bicycles. It’s a community parade and we let all the walk-ons join,” explained several members of the League.
As far as the order for the parade’s lineup…well, in Marine Corps style, show up first and you get to do the job first. In other words, the order of entrants is not predetermined. It’s decided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A patriotic birthday parade for America is the icing on the cake for the many tasks the League accomplishes. Texas City’s annual Mardi Gras parade is another of their sponsored festive events. The League can also be found in their red shirts and red caps raising funds at many of the county’s major festivals where they sell beer and food.
Life is more than the festive times, and the Galveston County Marine Corps League is there for fellow Marines and their family members in good times and bad, as they have many outreach operations. One is a scholarship program. Marines and their immediate family members can apply to the league for up to $1,000 per semester for an accredited college program.
Another outreach program is for those who sustained life-limiting injuries while on active duty. “We help wounded Marines and Navy Corpsman who might need some legal, financial or transitional assistance,” said James Harvey, Commandant over all Texas detachments.
With a somber spirit, Chaplin Ronnie Collins describes the fallen Marine Program. “We reach out to families of Marines who have passed away so that we can honor and recognize them with a plaque, a challenge coin and a ceremony at their funeral.” To date, the Galveston County League has performed 594 fallen Marine recognition ceremonies.
Galveston County Marine Corps League, detachment #668, consists of 115 members who are from all ranks of the Marines and served in World War II up through Afghanistan. Some are currently serving in the Marines, but the bulk of the membership comes from those who once served. Navy Corpsman also comprise the Corps League.
It took an act of congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature in 1937 to establish The Marine Corps League as the only Federally Chartered Marine Corps veteran’s organization.
It was the Galveston County Marine Corps League that initiated and developed the fallen warrior program which is now practiced across the country.
