Main Street hosts grand tribute to veterans

At Patriots Park in Venice, a monument honoring fallen military veterans has more than 640 names.

Forty of those were added last week, and Gene Sweeney knows every one of them.

He also knows their stories.

“I’ve watched every name be engraved on that wall,” Sweeney said. “It’s been a big part of my life.”

A Lakewood Ranch resident and U.S. Air Force veteran, Sweeney has made it his mission to honor fallen servicemen through memorials and other efforts, including co-founding the Tribute to Heroes Parade in Lakewood Ranch eight years ago.

For his effort, Sweeney has been selected as the grand marshal of the parade, to be held Sunday, May 29, at Lakewood Ranch Main Street.

“He’s been a part of the event from its inception and he’s done a lot over the years to recognize veterans,” said parade organizer Lori Ruth, who is the East County Observer’s associate publisher. “We wanted to make sure he was recognized for his time.”

Parade co-founder John Breiner, owner of Wolves Head Pizza, agreed.

“Every year, we try to select someone from the community who does outstanding community service,” Breiner said. “Gene’s done a ton of work with veterans and getting memorials off the ground. He’s a man on a mission.”

At 7 p.m., Sweeney will lead a parade of more than 60 groups from bagpipers to marching bands and veterans to Boys and Girl Scouts.

A pre-parade block party, with vendor booths, food and drink and family-friendly activities, will start at 5 p.m.

Sweeney and Breiner came up with the idea for the parade in 2009 after Sweeney’s grandson, Brandon Martinez, visited from New York. Brandon was returning to school on Sept. 11, prompting Sweeney to ask what his school taught about the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“He said, ‘Nothing Papa,’” Sweeney said. “It dawned on me that people were beginning to forget. Kids were not being taught about it.”

Sweeney was at a loss. He headed to Ed’s Tavern on Main Street, then owned by Breiner, to suggest building a memorial for 9/11 victims, a vision he fulfilled when the memorial opened in Patriots Park in 2012. The 9.11 Fallen Heroes Memorial features a steel beam from the World Trade Center.

While the memorial was in planning, the pair also decided to hold a parade.

“We needed to do something here,” Sweeney said. “Nothing was going on.”

The first year, Sweeney and Breiner rode a patriotically decorated golf cart lent to them by Col. John Saputo, owner of Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, and led a short parade. There were more people in the parade than watching.

Now thousands of spectators come out to watch more than 60 organizations walk, wave flags and toss beads.