Photos: Patriotism is on parade in South Norfolk

CHESAPEAKE

South Norfolk had the cast of characters required of any self-respecting Fourth of July parade: bagpipers, a marching band, and fez-wearing Shriners madly driving miniature Camaros and tiny stock cars.

Shriners were in all sorts of get-ups Friday: A hillbilly group in denim overalls strummed guitars and banjos and crooned bluegrass tunes. A half-dozen men wearing silk robes, turbans and pointy shoes waved from a float decorated with painted wooden camels.

The parade’s hero could have been straight out of central casting, too: Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, a son of Chesapeake remembered for his football prowess at Indian River High School and again at West Point.

Gadson, the grand marshal, spent the parade atop a silver Corvette convertible as sleek- looking as his prosthetic legs. Injured in a bombing in Iraq last May, Gadson recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

He lost both legs above the knee.

He remains on active duty – he hit the 20-year mark in June – and is now stationed at Fort Belvoir in Northern Virginia. In addition to intensive physical therapy, Gadson is pursuing a master’s degree in public management at Georgetown University.

At a presentation after the parade at Lakeside Park , John Dukes choked up introducing his former player.

“This is a very special person,” Coach Dukes said after leaning over and kissing Gadson’s head. He presented the soldier with a Braves football jersey like the one he played in from 1980 to 1983: blue and white, No. 44.

Gadson spoke briefly.

“I am proud to be an American,” he said to cheers. “I’m really proud to be from Chesapeake. I represent you all. I came from you all. You all sent me.”

His parents still live in Chesapeake, and Gadson said the sense-of-place he got growing up helped him overcome his injuries. “The reason I couldn’t quit was I remembered where I came from.”

Afterward, he explained that the community – its teachers, coaches, and neighbors – molded him, teaching him discipline, dedication and teamwork. “Your neighbors knew who you were, and if you stepped out of line, they were going to let your parents know,” he said with a smile.

The Fourth of July doesn’t have more meaning for him now, he said, but he thinks differently about words such as “sacrifice” and “freedom.”

He acknowledges that his physical freedom – to walk or drive or do chores, without a second thought – will never be the same.

“It’s much more complicated,” he said.

“I’m OK with it. I don’t have any animosity or anger. I don’t have any regrets. I’m proud of my service.”

Ezra Hill is proud of his service, too. Hill, of Hampton, shook Gadson’s hand before he left the stage.

Some 30 years Gadson’s senior, Hill joined a very different military in 1947 as a 17-year-old high school dropout.

He spent three years as a member of the fabled Tuskegee Airmen, and retired from the Air Force as a master sergeant.

Last year, the group received a Congressional Gold Medal, and Hill got a tour of the Oval Office from President Bush. He got to know First Lady Laura Bush, too, through the children’s book he wrote about his experience with the Tuskegee Airmen.

'The Black Red Tail Angels’ describes the accomplishments of the all-black unit, whose crews protected American bombers during World War II.

They didn’t lose a single bomber, and proved wrong those who thought African-American soldiers didn’t have the dexterity or the courage to fly in combat.

Hill grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Jim Crow era, and he celebrates a country in which he rose from second-class citizen to honored veteran. He plans to be in Hollywood next year for the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s movie about the airmen.

“Everybody has a chance to get to the top, that’s what it means,” he said of the holiday. “Keep the faith in the U.S.”

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629,

kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com