14th Annual VetsRoll Victory Parade

It’s that time of year where once again VetsRoll.org will be taking over 200 Honorably Discharged and Active Duty Veterans Through 1969 and Rosie-the-Riveters by the bus-loads to our Nation’s Capital to see their war memorials!

As they return home on Wednesday, May 21st let’s give them a welcome home to remember!

Join us at the Victory Parade Celebration as we return to the beautiful Central Christian Church, 2460 Milwaukee Rd. Beloit, WI

Spectators are encouraged to bring signs for their loved ones, consider dressing to the 40s period and arrive early for parking and viewing. There will be fireworks for the celebration.

Parade route details: Tentative arrival time in Beloit at 9:15-9:30pm. The caravan of 11 coaches plus motorcycles, first responders, and support vehicles will exit I-39/I-90 at WI Exit #185A. The procession will head west on WI-81 (Milwaukee Rd.) for one mile to Central Christian Church (CCC). General public is asked not to use the parking on the South side of CCC to allow room for Veterans families to park.

MORE ABOUT VETSROLL
VetsRoll.org was conceived on February 1, 2010 by John (spouse-Kimberly) and Mark (spouse-Darlene) Finnegan, co-owners of Finnegans’ RV Center, inc. in South Beloit, IL. Finnegans’ RV Center was formed in 1969 by their parents, Cy and Barbara Finnegan.

Cy was born in Litchfield, MN and was a WWII Navy Veteran (MM3) in the South Pacific Philippine Theater. Sadly, Cy lost a long and brutal battle to cancer in January of 2000; never having the opportunity to view the memorial that was built in honor of the WWII generation.

Barbara is a lifetime resident of Beloit and worked as an Army Signal Corps civilian office employee as a de-coder for the War Department in Arlington, VA. She later worked as a wiring cable lacer at Jorgensen Engineering in Beloit until the end of the war. Barbara was treated as a ‘Rosie-the-Riveter’ (the mostly women who went into the work force during WWII to allow more men to head overseas; keeping our factories running at capacity and indirectly leading to the Allied victory because we wore down the enemy) with the VetsRoll group.

After Cy’s passing, John and Mark carried on the ownership of the family business, but always longed for a memorable way to pay eternal tribute to their parents’ generation…’The Greatest Generation’.

A short time later, John and Mark learned of the wonderful Honor Flight Network that raises money to charter commercial aircraft on one day, round trip flights to fly WWII Veterans to Washington, DC at no cost to the Veterans. The Honor Flight program has ‘hubs’ located throughout America and has given America’s greatest heroes the opportunity to see their memorials before it’s too late.

Inspired by the Honor Flight Network, John and Mark felt they had finally received their calling and began calculating the logistics and expenses of offering a similar program to the WWII Veterans. Since the Finnegans’ are in the RV motorhome rental business, John and Mark looked at doing a 4-day trip by combination of charter buses and motorhomes. They shared their ideas with several others in their circle of contacts and kicked off VetsRoll.org on March 17th, 2010, just 60 days before their planned departure of May 17-20, 2010. Veterans and volunteers began to sign-up and the donations started to come in and in just 60 days, VetsRoll.org had raised more than $90,000 to successfully schedule a caravan of nine motorhomes, three charter coaches and a support van, carrying 125 WWII Veterans and ‘Rosies’.
Originally thought to be a ‘one-and-done’ venture, demand for subsequent trips continued.

Annually, local fundraisers raise significant funds to allow VetsRoll, Inc.® to continue its mission. Each year, 200 more WWII and Korean Era Veterans and ‘Rosies-the-Riveters’ are treated to this trip; all at zero expense to the participants!