Foot Float Moves to Rochester Area Memorial Parade, Seeking 200 Volunteers to Carry Signs for Michigan’s Fallen

(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 27, 2026)

Rochester, MI – A solemn tradition that has touched hearts in the Ferndale Memorial Day Parade is now making the move to the Rochester Area Memorial Day Parade of Fallen Heroes.

The Michigan Fallen Heroes Foot Float is a massive display that honors the lives of those lost in military service, with banners and placards carried by volunteers to help show the impact of those who lost their lives.

Organizers are seeking 200 volunteers to come out and be part of the display.

The task is simple – walk solemnly and carry a banner, sign, or flag.

Larry Saville is the founder of the Foot Float. He and a team of core volunteers have made sure that each year the names, faces, and hometowns of fallen heroes are added into the ever-growing display. Those pictured on the signs and banners are either from Michigan, or died while serving in a unit from Michigan. There are hundreds memorialized since 2001, when most of the deaths happened in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We needed a way to honor the sacrifice being made, and to honor the families and friends of those that paid the ultimate price,” Saville said.  “I think about how every birthday, every fourth of July, that person is no longer at that table.”

The effort is silent one, with no political messages or sides, just honor and respect for the heroes who are remembered each year.

As the massive display passes by, it’s “hard not to have a reaction,” he said.  “It has the power to move people, to make you think about what Memorial Day really means.”

Saville hopes the move from Ferndale to Rochester will help more people experience it, whether as volunteers or observers. The memorial often attracts people who come to walk from all over the state, including those who come to hold the sign of someone they knew and loved.

“Memorial Day calls us to pause and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedoms,” said Maggie Bobitz, President of the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “The Rochester community comes together in a community tributes to our veterans’ courage and sacrifice—a reminder of our shared responsibility to honor their legacy through gratitude, and unity.”

Learn more about the parade and the Foot Float at https://www.rrc-mi.com/memorial-day/  If you want to carry the tribute of a specific loved one, reach out to Larry Saville at 313-413-4521.

To volunteer: 

Meet at Mount Avon Cemetery at the corner of 3rd and Wilcox in Rochester. The Parade route starts at Mt. Avon Cemetery, moves along Harding Avenue to Livernois, and ends at Veterans Memorial Pointe Park. The Rochester Regional Chamber Foundation facilitates the parade on behalf of local municipalities including the City of Rochester and Rochester Hills.

Show up between 8:30 – 9:00am (park, check in, and pick up your poster); parade begins at 10am; Memorial Day ceremony begins at 11am if you want to stay.

Volunteers need to wear clothing in line with with the red, white, and blue motif – with no political, religious, or commercial themes. Or they can wear military or scout uniforms.