This year’s leaders (WITH GALLERY)
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 24, 2025
Ray Jones, the grand marshal of the 157th Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade, was presented with a walking stick by Charlie Cook at the past grand marshals’ dinner on Tuesday. The head of the walking stick is a white country church in keeping with the parade theme of “God’s Grace for America.” (The Ironton Tribune | Mark Shaffer)
Lou Pyles, the parade commander of the 157th Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade, speaks at the past grand marshals’ dinner on Tuesday. (The Ironton Tribune | Mark Shaffer)
The 2025 Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade honorary grand marshal Charles Emerson Wiseman speaks on Tuesday at the past grand marshals’ dinner. (The Ironton Tribune | Mark Shaffer)
100-year-old World War II veteran Charles Emerson Wiseman shows his 2025 Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade honorary grand marshal sash during the past grand marshals’ dinner on Thursdsay. (Ironton Tribune | Mark Shaffer)
On Tuesday, 2025 Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade honorary grand marshal Charles Emerson Wiseman was presented with a quilt hand-sewn by parade committee member Ruby Kerns during the past grand marshals’ dinner.
Dinner honors marshals of 157th Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade
On Tuesday, the grand marshals of the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade gathered to meet this year’s marshals — Ray Jones is the grand marshal and the honorary grand marshal is Charles Emerson Wiseman. The parade commander is Lou Pyles.
The speaker for the event was Rob Curnell, who served six years as an electrician in U.S. Navy, is a past officer of the Veterans Commission and is the current quartermaster for VFW 8850.
He said Memorial Day was personal for him, as it was for the people in the room at the Knights of Columbus hall.
He said that on Memorial Day, he was not thinking about the long duty hours when he was in the Navy or the deployments or the challenges of the job.
“I am thinking about those who never came home,” he said. “Memorial Day is not about us, the ones who served and came back. It is all about the ones who wore the same uniform, but paid the ultimate price.”
He said Memorial Day is sharing the weight of remembering the fallen and that “freedom isn’t free and never was. On every base, on every ship, in ever unit, there are names. People we trained with, laughed with, stood beside and for some of us, those names are now etched in memorial walls, crosses or plaques.”
He said that is a reminder of the price of liberty.
Curnell said Memorial Day means taking a moment of silence in the rush of the day, calling an old shipmate to say he remembers, teaching the younger generation that the day isn’t just part of a three-day weekend but rather a day earned in blood, sweat and sacrifice.
Master of ceremony Brent Pyles joked this year’s parade commander, his wife, Lou Pyles, had been “recycled” since she has held the position a time or two before.
She said it was an honor.
“I love this parade,” she said, adding she had been on the parade committee for many years and had worked with so many to make it better every year for the thousands of people who gather on the Ironton Streets.
“I think we do a really good job every year,” she said. “You don’t do it on your own, you have a lot of people to back you up and take care of things. I’m very honored that some of my peers thought I should be parade commander again and I hope I can make everyone proud this year being Ray’s parade commander.”
The next person to be honored was this year’s honorary grand marshal Wiseman, who is 100 years old World War II veteran.
“I sure appreciate the thoughts you have given me,” Wiseman said. Last winter, he was inducted into the Lawrence County Veterans Hall of Fame.
“As I’ve said before, I didn’t win the war and it is a wonder I even helped. But I did volunteer,” he said.
It was 82 years ago when the then 17-year-old Wiseman signed up to be in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Thinking he was signing an attendance sheet, Wiseman actually signed up to be on submarine duty. He was assigned to be a radio operator on the USS Puffer, which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean and had nine patrol missions in which they assigned a variety of duties including intercepting Japanese cargo ships and sinking vessels.
After speaking, Wiseman was given the honorary grand marshal sash and was presented with a handcrafted quilt from parade committee member Ruby Kerns.
The 2025 grand marshal Ray Jones is a long-time member of the parade committee and has served as parade security for several years. He is a former Lawrence County deputy.
“I am humbled and deeply honored that you chose me to serve as grand marshal for the 2025 parade,” he said.
He detailed how he had served the community for the past 50 years, beginning in 1974 as one of Ohio’s first EMT-paramedics. In 1987, he graduated from police academy and became a Lawrence County deputy. He was a full-time paramedic until 1999 when he transitioned to full time deputy. He retired from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office in 2018 and still serves as a school resource officer.
“I take great pride in my work ethic and path I chose — a life of protection and serving the people of this great county,” Jones said. “I have the utmost respect for our military members, our veterans who sacrificed so much for this country.”
As is the long-standing tradition, as grand marshal, Jones was presented with a walking stick carved by Charlie Cook.
“I love the theme, ‘God’s Grace for America,’” Cook said. A white country church was carved as the head piece of the stick and the words “Grace for America” was written on it.
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