The votes are in – William "Bill" Washburn has been named the Honorary Grand Marshal for this year’s Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade.

Tuesday, May 01, 2001

The votes are in – William "Bill" Washburn has been named the Honorary Grand Marshal for this year’s Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade.

The parade committee voted in favor of Washburn at last night’s meeting.

Washburn is a 1943 graduate of Ironton High School and entered the Army Air Corps a little over one month after graduating. He was a Flight Engineer Gunner on a B-24 Bomber.

In March of 1945, Washburn’s plane was shot down while en route to a bombing mission in Linz, Austria. Washburn was captured by Axis soldiers while "wandering around in the mountains for several days."

Washburn was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Washburn said he was listed as "missing in action" for over two months. Washburn, who served in the military until May 9, 1945, also was awarded the Purple Heart.

In his civilian life, Washburn retired from the Ironton Fire Department as a captain after serving the city for 25 years. He is currently a member of the VFW, DAV and the American Legion.

Plans for Navy Night were also discussed at the meeting. Navy night will be held May 24 at 7 p.m. at the riverbank.

The event will feature ceremonies from the U.S. Coast Guard, scout troops and the Navy reserves. The night’s speaker will be attorney David McCown and Judge Richard Walton has been selected as master of ceremonies.

The committee will meet again next Monday at 7 p.m. at the Ironton VFW.