By Michael P.Walsh
Special to the Voice
Vietnam veteran Emery Linton, Sr. will serve as grand marshal of the city’s Memorial Day parade when it steps off at 10:30 a.m. May 30.
Linton, 73, will lead the 40-unit procession of veterans, dignitaries and bands along the 1.5-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street.
A decorated Army veteran who served a tour of duty in the Vietnam War, he embraced the honor with typical grace and humility.
“I’m honored they asked me to serve as grand marshal,” said Linton, referring to the West Haven Veterans Council, which helps the city organize the annual parade.
Linton said he accepted the honor during a recent phone call from Veterans Council President Dave Ricci and other members.
“I said, ‘What are you crazy,’” joked Linton, moments before thanking them. “Anything they do, I try to help them out with.”
Linton was tapped by the Veterans Council for his years of service to the military, his fellow vets and his community, the latter of which is perhaps the cornerstone of the qualifications for grand marshal, Ricci said.
“Emery Linton has been a longtime resident of West Haven and has made great sacrifices to protect us and to protect this country,” Mayor Nancy R. Rossi said. “I am proud that he is serving as grand marshal of our Memorial Day parade, as he is the epitome of what we are coming together to celebrate: sacrifice, service and an undying commitment to one’s country.
“I am grateful for those like Emery who are willing to serve as community leaders, and I would like to express my gratitude for all veterans, whether they have served or are currently serving.”
This year’s edition of southern Connecticut’s oldest and largest Memorial Day parade has no rain date and will include three marching divisions and a military division, as well as special accommodations for disabled veterans.
It will feature three bands from the Rock House School of Music performing on a trio of floats made possible by Bruneau’s Garage of West Haven and Anthony Augliera Moving & Storage of East Haven.
Acclaimed theater and film actor Connor Antico will perform on one of the floats with Paul Pesco, a renowned New York session guitarist who has recorded and toured with legendary recording artists Hall & Oates, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna.
Antico, 27, of Stamford, is set to star in the fall debut of the John Mellencamp musical, “Small Town,” in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I am honored to participate in West Haven’s Memorial Day parade and honor all those who have died wearing the uniform of our great land,” said Antico, who is also slated to release an extended play record, “Make Something Beautiful,” produced by Pesco.
Immediately after the parade, Rock House owner John McCarthy will accompany Pesco, Antico and other notable musicians to perform an all-star tribute concert celebrating John Ziada, the late West Haven restaurateur and community volunteer affectionately known as Johnny Z.
The free show will take place outside Z’s Corner Cafe, the live music mecca that Ziada built at 407 Campbell Ave. The public is invited.
During the one-hour concert, Campbell Avenue from Brown to Main streets will remain closed, city officials said.
The Memorial Day parade will include an eight-seat golf cart carrying former grand marshals that is bedecked with a star gracing the names of those deceased. Other veterans will ride on a float.
It will also include a flyover by a C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.
Linton will guide the procession from a golf cart flanked by the West Haven Police Honor Guard.
The 90-minute parade, in memory of the deceased members of the U.S. armed forces of all wars, will showcase the city’s legion of veterans groups.
The procession will include bands from West Haven, including West Haven High and Bailey Middle schools, and bands from New Haven, such as the Village Drill Team and the Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy.
It will include cheerleaders from the West Haven Seahawks and Jeeps from the Connecticut Beach Cruisers.
The procession will also spotlight the traditional contingent of youth organizations and sports leagues, dance troupes and Scout troops, fraternal organizations and service clubs, local and state leaders, police officers and firefighters.
Linton was born and raised in Bridgeport and graduated from Central High School in 1968.
In September 1969, Linton joined the Army at age 19. He completed basic training eight weeks later at Fort Dix, New Jersey, followed by advanced training at Fort Lee, Virginia, in preparation for Vietnam.
For the next 10 months, he was stationed with the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany and worked in inventory control, known as stock control.
In December 1970, Linton was deployed to the 92nd Engineer Battalion in Long Binh, South Vietnam, where he managed a warehouse and operated a bulldozer, in addition to other wartime duties.
The battalion, stationed under the 159th Engineer Group, constructed warehouses, motor pool sheds, chapels, airfields, pipeline systems and barracks. The battalion also maintained supply routes and operated a rock quarry.
Linton was honorably discharged as a specialist E-4 in January 1972. He received the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars.
He also received the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, a South Vietnamese military campaign medal for support of operations in Vietnam after 1960.
The Vietnam War is a story of patriots who pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoon, fighting heroically to preserve the ideals and liberties that Americans hold dear.
From la Drang to Hue, U.S. troops won every major battle of Vietnam. Through more than a decade of combat over air, land and sea, they upheld the highest traditions of the armed forces. And more than 58,000 sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know in service to their country.
After the Army, Linton fabricated tire valve stems at Bridgeport Brass until 1977, when he moved to San Diego and worked at a shipyard doing pipe fitting and ductwork.
In late 1979, Linton returned to Connecticut and worked for the city of Milford as a laborer, truck driver and sewer line mechanic until his retirement in 2005.
Linton stays active as a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7788, the American Legion Post 196 and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 251. He serves as the chapter’s POW/MIA chairman and organizes its yearly vigils, traditionally held on the Saturday before Father’s Day.
Linton lives in the Allingtown neighborhood of Maltby Avenue. He has two sons, two daughters, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He is the former 19-year companion of Veterans Council President Lorelee “Lori” Grenfell, who died Feb. 19, 2015, at age 60.
Grenfell, a Vietnam veteran, served stateside in the Women’s Army Corps in 1972-75.
In May 2015, Veterans Council members and city officials dedicated a granite stone in memory of Grenfell, the grand marshal of the 2001 Memorial Day parade, during the dedication of the eighth phase of the brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park.