Robert Endt named grand marshal for veterans parade

Robert Endt to be American Legion Post 42 Veterans Day Grand Marshal for the Ocean Springs Parade on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.

Endt has served Post 42 as Commander (twice), Adjutant and Finance Officer (several times); District 9 Vice Commander (twice); District 9 Commander (three times); Southern Area Vice Commander; and more before being elected as Department Commander. Endt is a loyal member of Post 42, serving
The American Legion throughout Mississippi. He has served on the National Commission for Veterans Affairs and has traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress to promote American Legion concerns to Mississippi's congressional delegation. His wife Barbara has served as Secretary, Treasurer and Sergeant-at-Arms of Ladies Auxiliary Unit 42, and their son and sons-in-law are members of the recently chartered Sons of the American Legion Squadron 42. His three daughters are also members of the Auxiliary. Endt and his wife have seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Endt’s father-in-law was Mark Seymour, who was killed in action on Sept. 14, 1944, in Germany. VFW Post 5699 Ocean Springs was named in honor of him.
Endt is an Ocean Springs resident. As a youth he was active in baseball. He received his bachelor's and master’s degrees from the University of Mississippi. Upon his enlistment in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War he received a direct commission to 2nd Lieutenant. During the Cold War he had assignments in Morocco, Berlin, Germany and Turkey. He served as an electronics officer until retiring as a Lt. Colonel. He returned to Mississippi and was employed at Ingalls Shipbuilding at Pascagoula, where he was manager of tactical systems engineering department responsible for weapons systems on destroyers and amphibious assault ships. Following his retirement from Ingalls, he taught mathematics at Mississippi Gulf Coast College. Endt remained active in his community of Ocean Springs by serving 10 years on the school board and the museum commission.
The parade will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 at the beachfront, go to Porter, turn on Washington Ave. and again on Government past Pershing Square. Among the featured units in the parade are the Bobcats of Waveland, Ocean Springs High School Band.