99th Infantry Division Chaplain
Ten veterans of the 99th Infantry Division took part in the 2012 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.
Joining their unit was Col. Vincent Alcazar, USAF, who carried the Colors for them, Col. Allister Anderson, Army Chaplain, who may have helped them behave, and Cris Papageorge, former member of the 505th Engineer Battalion, who merely wanted to be with them in the parade.
Their day together began in the parish hall of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill, where church volunteers provided a delicious lunch and veterans told stories of a highlight in their military service, which turned out to be the best part of the get-together.
Shortly after noon, the veterans were taken to the assembly area on the National Mall to await their call to move out in the 200-unit parade along Constitution Avenue. They were unit 56.
There were 26 guests with the veterans, and they were transported by volunteers to the steps of the National Archives Building across the street from the Reviewing Stand, so they could see as much of the parade as they cared to. Afterward, they called their driver who picked them up and returned them to the parish hall.
The 99th Infantry Division unit consisted of four walkers who persisted in spite of the heat and humidity, nine riders divided among two genuine WWII jeeps and a genuine WWII Army Personnel Carrier plus an air-conditioned sedan. Other WWII vets in the assembly