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Two hundred thirty-six years ago, delegates of America’s 13 colonies declared independence from rule of England.
Annual commemorations in communities across the 50 states pay homage to the nation’s Armed Forces for preserving the country’s sovereignty and celebrate the birthday of a world power.
A federal holiday, the Fourth of July is also a yearly opportunity to reflect on daily freedoms, such as dissident speech, choice in occupation, voting rights and protection against unwarranted searches.
Locally, residents have nuanced viewpoints on what Independence Day means to them, and many say they will attend one of the area’s two prominent public festivals this month.
For Judy Courteaux, the Fourth of July is an opportunity to celebrate the latitude of choice.
“Freedom gives us the right to live where we want, say what we want, work where we want and raise our children how we want,” Courteaux, 62, says.
Wendy Guerrero, spending time at the library with her 8-year-old son Noah, says Independence Day means freedom. “A sense of being proud of being an American, proud of our military and proud of the great country we live in. Freedom is being free to do as you choose and not what your government is telling you to do,” the 43-year-old Houma resident says.
Kiera Jackson, a 10th-grade student at Ellender Memorial High School, looks at independence in a larger frame.
“It means that people can live in their own way,” Jackson says. “And you don’t have to depend on people doing things for you.”
Jim Robinson, 80, says the holiday is the opportunity to be grateful for generations of armed forces that have protected America’s sovereignty.
“It means a lot to Americans that we have our independence,” Robinson says. “A lot of men have died for that.”
Houma’s Fourth of July celebration – which includes skydivers, a beauty pageant and after-dark fireworks – is scheduled for Sunday, July 1.
It starts at 1 p.m. with a memorial at Veterans Park, La. Highway 311. Maj. Gen Hunt Downer emcees the event, which includes the laying of a wreath.
The annual Patriotic Parade, with floats and military vehicles carrying veterans from St. Charles Street to Barrow Street by way of Main Street, rolls at 2:30.
A mechanical bull and rock wall headline a list of children’s activities at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. The fun booths are open from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but tickets must be purchased for the children’s activities.
The daylong celebration also includes parachutists at 5 p.m., a flyover at 6:45 p.m. and a 25-minute fireworks show at 9:15 p.m., all outside the civic center.
Houma’s Independence Day Celebration was co-founded by The Regional Military Museum and SEECA Eye Care four years ago. For more information, visit www.houma4thofjuly.com.
In Thibodaux, the celebration is held July 4 in Peltier Park. It features music, an auction, games and a nighttime fireworks display.
Revelers are invited to bring barbecue pits, picnic baskets, tents and lawn furniture to the admission-free gathering. Concessions are sold, and people are asked to leave glass bottles at home. The park is closed to vehicles after 10:30 a.m.
The music starts at noon with a concert by Way Down South. The opening ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m., includes the pledge of allegiance, singing of the national anthem, presentation of colors, raising of the flag, a white dove release and 21-gun salute.
Way Down South and Treater alternate on stage from 2:30 to 5 p.m., when officials hold an auction. Treater retakes the stage at 7 p.m. and plays until the fireworks display at 9 p.m.
A military display, free child identification cards and free patriotic gifts for the children are also available throughout the day.
The City of Thibodaux, the Lorio Foundation and the Veterans of Vietnam War Inc. LA Post No. 4 co-sponsor the event. For more information, call Leland Hoffman at (985) 446-5237.
Wartime veterans who devoted their lives in preparation of defending the nation’s freedoms have their own perspective on the meaning of the Fourth.
Clifton Schexnayder spent three years in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He did not see battle because the war ended at the same time he received certification as an airplane gunman.
Schexnayder says the Fourth of July is an annual reminder that Americans possess more day-to-day freedoms than other nations.
“It means the way we’re living is the way everybody ought to live, and not everybody does,” the Houma resident says. “If you don’t like your job, you can look for another job. … You don’t have to worry about somebody telling you, ‘You can’t live here,’ or ‘You can’t live there.’ It’s freedom, and not everybody is free.”
Russell Poiencot, who spent three years in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the Fifth Air Force, says he plans to spend Independence Day reminiscing about his three years in the military.
Poiencot was never called into battle, either – he didn’t join the Army until the conclusion of World War II – but he saw firsthand the destruction the war wrought as a military photographer of post-war Japan. He also remembers working in the fields at harvest as a child to “help the war effort.”
Poiencot said Independence Day is an annual reminder that he lives in a “Free World.”
“To describe the words Free World, you have to have been in service,” Poiencot says. “You have to have seen what wars do – utter destruction. … As far as I’m concerned, (Independence Day) is solemn. It’s more solemn than fireworks.”
What does Independence Day mean to you? Tell us in the comments section.
Houma’s Patriotic Parade, with floats and military vehicles carrying veterans, rolls at 2:30 p.m. through downtown Houma. It’s followed by an Independence Day celebration at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center from 3:30 to 8 p.m. A fireworks show begins at 9 p.m.
