The Tamaqua 2022 Memorial Day Parade will be held at 10 a.m. Monday.

Karl Smulligan of Tamaqua has been named grand marshal of the parade, while Charles Odorizzi will be the featured speaker for the Memorial Day service. The service, held at the Soldiers’ Circle in Odd Fellow’s Cemetery, will take place at 11 a.m. The color guard of C.H. Berry Post #173, Tamaqua American Legion, will render honors.

The parade will form in the last block of East Broad Street in the area of the former CVS and Maff Motors. Participants should arrive no later than 9:30 a.m., and check in with parade coordinators to find their designated location in the lineup.

The Tamaqua 154th annual Memorial Day service honors all our country’s war dead, with printed recognition of those 94 service persons who were natives of Tamaqua. The brief service also includes the reading of the names of the Tamaqua area veterans who passed away since the previous Memorial Day observance.

Participants will include the Rev. Robert Finlan, grand marshal Karl Smulligan, Poppy Queen Layluh Creitz, the Tamaqua American Legion C.H. Berry Post No. 173, the Canton Allentown No. 39 Patriarch’s Militant, members of the Tamaqua Area High School Raider Marching Band, and guest speaker Charles J. Odorizzi III.

Charles Odorizzi

Odorizzi was born at Mildenhall Air Force Base, England, and is the son of Olga (Frome) Odorizzi and the late Charles J. Odorizzi Jr. His parents moved to Tamaqua in 1964 and Charles graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1981. He briefly attended Moravian College, chose to enlist in the U.S. Air Force, and reported for active duty on Sept. 22, 1982.

Following basic training, he was assigned to the 91st Civil Engineering Squadron and stationed at Minot AFB, North Dakota, where he won numerous Airman of the Month awards, was selected as the Airman of the Year for 1984, and received an early promotion to sergeant. In 1986, Odorizzi was reassigned to McChord Air Force Base, Washington, and served in the 62nd Civil Engineering, where he again received numerous military and civilian awards for his civic involvement with organizations such as the Tacoma Literacy Center, Meals on Wheels, the Pierce County Food Bank, and the Remann Hall Juvenile Justice Center. In 1990 Charlie was transferred from McChord AFB to Howard Air Base in Panama.

Odorizzi spent many hours tutoring high school geometry and chemistry students, as well as operating heavy machinery to help build roads and schools in impoverished areas throughout Panama. Charlie left military service in September 1992 and is classified as a disabled veteran.

As a civilian, Odorizzi settled in Omaha, Nebraska, and began a business, The Next Millennium, with many employees and sales in excess of $2 million per year.

A member of the Freemasons, Odorizzi served in many positions including Worshipful Master and Grand Chaplain for Nebraska. He was elected president of the National Sojourners for 2022.

He and his wife, Cindy, have four children and 10 grandchildren. He is an avid fan of local history, having collected Tamaqua postcards and other memorabilia. Odorizzi regularly returns to visit Tamaqua and still refers to it as home.

Poppy queen

This year’s Poppy Queen is Miss Layluh Creitz, daughter of Amy Creitz of Fogelsville and Val Creitz, also of Fogelsville. She is the granddaughter of Lynne and Richard Creitz and the sister of Grayson Creitz. Layluh has been a member of the Junior Auxiliary of the Tamaqua Legion for the past five years.

The Rev. Robert Finlan is a native of Ashland, a 1986 graduate of Cardinal Brennan High School, and serves the parishes of St. John XXIII Catholic Church, Tamaqua, and St. Richard of Chichester Catholic Church, Barnesville.

Karl Smulligan

Karl Smulligan, a Tamaqua native and a 1967 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, enlisted in the United States Army and received basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, followed by Signal Corps training at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Smulligan served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and later taught Fixed Station Microwave Radio Equipment Repairman training at Fort Monmouth. He was discharged from the Army in July of 1970 as a sergeant.

In March of 1971, Smulligan enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard and served in Company C., 3rd Battalion, 103rd Armor as tank commander. The unit later became Co. C., 3rd Battalion, 109th Infantry, where he received a commission to second lieutenant. In the following years, he worked as a rifle platoon leader, mortar platoon leader, weapons platoon leader, executive office, and company commander in the rank of captain. His unit was activated several times in the early to mid-1970s during the floods in Harrisburg and Johnstown, and the trucker’s strike.

Smulligan left command and went to the 213th Support Group in Allentown as an Electronics Maintenance Officer in the rank of major followed by an assignment at the 337th Maintenance Battalion in Reading as the executive officer.

At the outbreak of Operation Desert Storm, Smulligan became the commander of the 3623rd Direct Support Maintenance Company in Bethlehem and was deployed to Saudi Arabia. He was transferred back to 213th Support Group as a lieutenant colonel and, in the five years that followed, he had three battalion commands at the 337th. He was then promoted to full colonel and assumed command of 28th Engineering Brigade, 28th Infantry Division of Pennsylvania, followed by the 91st Troop command.

Smulligan served on staff of the Virginia National Guard Headquarters at Fort Picket. During Hurricane Katrina, he led the Task Force Commonwealth and was deployed to Louisiana. Smulligan retired in May of 2006 after 38 years, 11 months, 28 days in uniform. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and numerous state and federal awards.

Smulligan managed the family business, Smulligan Glass Shop, with his brother Ken. Smulligan lives in Tamaqua and is married to Patricia Ann (Reis) Smulligan. The couple has one daughter, Kelly, and two grandsons: Aiden and Nicholas Maltese.

The parade will be held rain or shine. In the event of rain, however, the Memorial Day service will be held at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center at 125 Pine St., Tamaqua. If the service is relocated to the Community Arts Center, the announcement will be made as early as possible on the Tamaqua Remembers Facebook page.

Any organizations interested in participating in the parade can do so by contacting Arthur Connely at 570-778-7710.

Food and refreshments will be available at the Tamaqua Legion, 206 W. Broad St. following the ceremony.