HAI's UH-1H Huey was in two Memorial Day parades honoring the men and women who served in the nation’s military.
Gettysburg, Pa.-based Helicopter Applicators Inc. (HAI) stirred the hearts of armed service members and military veterans May 28 by displaying a Huey helicopter in Memorial Day parades in Gettysburg and Hanover, Pa. HAI mechanic and driver Greg Snyder adorned a non-flyable UH-1H Huey with decals for the five service branches of the U.S. military and a flag honoring veterans of the Vietnam War.
This marks the third consecutive year HAI has participated in a local parade in what has become a Memorial Day tradition for operator Glenn Martin and his employees. HAI first put the Huey in the Gettysburg Memorial Parade in 2016. “Since then our neighboring towns, their American Legions and Veterans of Foreign Wars, have asked us to enter in their parades as well,” Martin wrote in an email. “The first time we did this several of the Vets came up and said with tears in their eyes, ‘This is the parade we never had,’ [which] brought tears to my eyes as well.”
Members of the American Legion assemble in front of the Huey along the parade route.
Last year, HAI took part in parades in Gettysburg, Hanover and Littlestown, Pa. This year, the Huey was part of Hanover’s Memorial Day parade in the morning and Gettysburg’s parade in the afternoon. “The people really enjoy it. The vets from the American Legions, they jump on. You can fit about 13 of them in there,” said Martin in a phone interview. “One year we had a Korean War guy get in, which was really nice.”
Snyder also had a service member riding with him as he hauled the Huey in Monday’s parade: his son Logan (at right), who joined the Marines in 2017. Logan surprised his father Greg by coming from North Carolina for the holiday weekend. Logan is going through a helicopter maintenance course in New River, N.C., to become a helicopter mechanic like his dad. Logan worked for Helicopter Applicators Inc. in the summer while he attended Biglerville (Pa.) High School.
The Gettysburg parade starts at a nearby school and ends at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, which was dedicated by President Lincoln near the end of the Civil War, with a series of notable public remarks. After the parade, Martin puts the Huey out front on display at HAI’s office.
It’s too soon to tell if HAI’s Memorial Day tradition will last four score and seven years, but a fourth year in 2019 is a near certainty. “Definitely, I would like to see it continue,” Martin said.
 stirred the hearts of armed service members and military veterans this week by displaying a Huey helicopter in Memorial Day parades in Gettysburg and Hanover, Pa.){kind=small}
