Admiral will be grand marshal at parade

March 07, 1997

By JULIE E. GREENE

Staff Writer

SHARPSBURG - U.S. Navy Admiral C.J. Rorie will be grand marshal for Sharpsburg's Memorial Day Parade scheduled for Saturday, May 24, said Jan Wetterer, a parade committee member.

Rorie, a native of Tennessee, was the commissioning chairman for the USS Antietam and the USS Arleigh Burke and the first Aegis destroyer.

It was Rorie's ties to the USS Antietam that led to his selection as grand marshal, Wetterer said.

The town's residents have developed a bond with the ship and its crew during the last two years, she said. About two years ago, three crew members visited Sharpsburg and got to know many of the residents, Wetterer said.

The crew and town residents keep tabs on each other by exchanging copies of the Sharpsburg Town Crier and the USS Antietam's newsletter, said Wetterer, editor of the town's monthly newsletter.

Rorie has received the American Spirit of Honor Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various campaign medals. He was the first recipient of the Navy Materiel Command's Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance Award.

He served on several destroyers, cruiser and mine warfare ships.

He has been director of Weapons Systems Integration and deputy project manager for Surface Missile Systems in the Naval Sea Systems Command.

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