NIAGARA FALLS, NY (Tribune News Service) — North Tonawanda World War II veteran William Gosch will be the grand marshal of this year’s Dyngus Day parade.

“We felt he represented the embodiment of North Tonawanda,” said NT Neighborhood Watch chairman Joe Marranca. “We don’t have too many people left of his generation. His service to his country and community have been great.”

Gosch, 99, called this role an honor, saying it’s things like this that keep a community together and reminds people how lucky they are to live in a city like North Tonawanda.

“It’s going to be a great event, and I’m looking forward to seeing so many smiling faces as we proceed down Oliver Street, a place I remember fondly from growing up,” he said.

Gosch is a 1942 graduate of North Tonawanda High School. In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Gosch enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1942 and was soon stationed in the Pacific Theater, participating in four combat missions over two years including the Battle of Okinawa.

After the war, Gosch worked for Johns Manville, as general manager of the Richardson Boat Co., and graduated from Niagara University in 1950. He also worked as the North Tonawanda Housing Authority manager for 15 years. In 2020, at the age of 97, he was appointed by the North Tonawanda Common Council to serve as the interim 2nd Ward alderman after the post was vacated by now Clerk-Treasurer Donna Braun.

In December 2021, a video interview with Gosch about his experiences in the war was published on the YouTube channel Remember WWII with Rishi Sharma, which has since gotten over 1 million views. The video encouraged people to send thank you and birthday cards to Gosch, which he got from all over the world and from every state in the United States.

“The last two years have been quite a thrilling experience,” Gosch said, recalling that he was honored at the first ever Buffalo Bills game he attended this past November, and served as the grand marshal of the North Tonawanda Memorial Day parade.

North Tonawanda’s Dyngus Day celebration has been going on the past three years. Marranca calls it a more family-friendly alternative to the celebrations in downtown Buffalo and something more representative of the Northtowns.

“We thought with our Polish heritage on Oliver Street, it would be a great place to celebrate,” Marranca said. “The guys in Buffalo do a great job. We though this would supplement it, not draw from it.”

The parade starts at 5 p.m. on April 10; the route is just over 1 mile long, along Oliver Street from Buffalo Bolt Bay to the City Farmers Market. About 50 participants are expected this year, including the Carousel Museum, WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers, the Christmas Trailer, the Polish Mandalorian, the Witches of the Moonlight, and other local businesses.

The parade afterparty at the market will feature live polka music by Captain Tom and the Hooligans, a beer tent hosted by Sweeney Hose Fire Company, Polish food, desserts, games, and more. Commemorative T-shirts will be sold, each one marked with a different number in a raffle for a $500 prize.

(c)2023 the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)

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