Four war veterans to serve as July 4th boat parade Grand Marshals


Four veterans of four different foreign wars will serve Saturday as Grand Marshals of the annual 4th of July boat parade in Plaquemine.

The boat parade begins down Bayou Plaquemine near the Parish Jail and is slated to arrive at the Water Front Park near the Lock by 3 p.m. Saturday to begin special ceremonies.

Leading the boat parade as Grand Marshals will be World War II pilot Thomas Bickham, Korean War Navy sailor Louis Sanchez, Veteran War Marine Earl Devillier, and Afghanistan Army veteran and National Guardsman Larry James Rose Jr.

Nearby shops, the Plaquemine Lock, and the Iberville Museum will open in the morning, while food, crafts, and game booths will be open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Water Front Park.

Following the opening ceremonies, which includes introduction of the military veterans, a special Persimmon Crawl (pirogue and canoe obstacle races) will be held at the park.

KANE GLAZE will play music at the park from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and a Jitterbug Contest is set to begin around 7 p.m. The hometown celebration ends after a fireworks show over Bayou Plaquemine, which is set for 9 p.m.

There will be free admission to all the sites, which includes the park, museum, and historic lock. Boats are welcome in the Plaquemine Lock Chamber. No ice chests or pets, please! Also, it is requested you bring your own lawn chairs.

Plaquemine Depot Market will open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for shoppers. The museum hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the lock house state historic site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The hometown celebration is sponsored by the Plaquemine Main Street Program.

The Grand Marshals:

BICKHAM served in the European Theater during WWII as a bomber group pilot. His bomber crashed in Germany, but he managed to get his crew out of danger as they walked their way to Belgium and hitched a ride to England and back to their base. He also had to emergency land another bomber with most of his controls shot out and one crewman killed. Bickham received two medals of distinguish for his duty during the war.

After the war Bickham was a teacher, coach, and supervisor as well as a longtime school board member in the parish. He and his wife Audrey raised five children in Plaquemine.

SANCHEZ served on the navy ship, the U.S.S. Harmason DER 316, during the Korean War years in both the Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.
Sanchez worked in plant maintenance and became a supervisor for the Iberville Parish Police Jury, serving many years as a municipal employee. He and his wife Patsy raised six children in Plaquemine.

DEVILLER served as a L/CPL in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was stationed out of California, Okinawa, and North Carolina and remembers some fond moments of the Far East during his tour of duty.

The Plaquemine resident spent 26 years as a machinist and then ran a tire repair business for another 23 years. Earl and his late wife raised two children.

ROSE served in the 10th Mountain Division in 2006-07 in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army SPC/E-4. He received six medals or honors for his service.

After serving active duty, Rose joined the local National Guard unit in Plaquemine.

Rose and his wife Kelly Lynn have a five-week old daughter, Hailey Lynn. He works as a maintenance man and is attending college full-time in the evenings at ITT-Technical Institute in Baton Rouge.

Rose says the best part of his military life was meeting and becoming close friends with his Plaquemine “adoptive” family during his time with the National Guard.