Washington City Pioneer Day Parade; STGnews Videocast, Photo Gallery

African drums were provided for the Warriors to keep in beat, Washington, Utah, July 24, 2013 | Photos by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

WASHINGTON CITY  – Pioneer day was eagerly anticipated this year as Washington City hosted the Pioneer Day Parade which also featured the “Stripling Warriors march.”

“It was really fun and different than watching normal parades,” said stripling warrior Tommy Starkey of St. George.

Many people marched in this parade. Not only were the stripling warriors represented, but so were different wards in Washington County, future and current missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints carrying flags of countries where missionaries are serving, and scouts.

“It was fun to dress up and have a shield and sword,” stripling warrior Michael Frodsham said, “and walk with a bunch of other warriors.”

The stripling warriors originate from a story in The Book of Mormon. According to the story, the warriors were 2,000 young men who were extraordinarily exact and obedient in the performance of their duties and loyal to their faith in God, which had been taught to them by their mothers.

As their tale unfolds, the stripling warriors would engage in a fierce battle to save an ambushed portion of the army they served in. They won the battle. Many of the warriors were wounded but none lost their lives. Helaman, their military commander, credited God for the preservation of his troops.

In LDS culture the stripling warriors are seen as an archetype of faithfulness and devotion to duty worthy of emulation.

(Report continues below)


Videocast by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

The Stripling Warriors were dressed in wrap-arounds with one or more weapons, along with a shield. The warriors got to design their costumes and shields themselves. The scouts were dressed in their full uniforms. The missionaries were dressed in standard missionary clothing.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Patricia Holland, were the Grand Marshals of this parade, leading the missionaries.

“We got a great opportunity to see a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an apostle, Elder Holland come to this parade,” said Kaylyn Chamberlain, “He symbolizes great meaning.”

Washington City put a lot of thought and preparation into making the young men that participated into fearless and brave warriors.

This parade is one that will be remembered for a long time to come.

For more information about the vision behind the Stripling Warrior Parade, visit warriorparade.com.

St. George News Assistant Editor Mori Kessler contributed to this article.

Click on a photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

 

African drums were provided for the Warriors to keep in beat, Washington, Utah, July 24, 2013 | Photos by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
African drums were provided for the Warriors to keep in beat, Washington, Utah, July 24, 2013 | Photos by Samantha Tommer, St. George News

 

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2 Comments

  • Reed Markham July 24, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    Excellent visual coverage of the parade. I really enjoyed viewing the pictures of the missionaries.
    The Pioneer Day parade is a great tribute to the courageous pioneers who settled the State of Utah.

  • Snickerdoodle July 25, 2013 at 12:38 am

    I really enjoyed viewing pictures of the missionaries too. I needed a good laugh, I was having a bad day. Little boys that are foresaken by their families, get sent far away, and won’t see a … until they are 30 is quite humorous.

    Ed. ellipsis

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