Veterans Day Parade magazine_Layout 1 11/11/13 10:14 AM Page 5
17th Annual Veterans Day Parade
A History of the Veterans Day Parade
November 9, 2013
Partial List of Parade Participants (continued)
SIGNAL TRIBUNE / BIXBY KNOLLS CAR WASH AND DETAIL CENTER SHANA SMITH / CALIFORNIA ARMY MILITARY SPOUSE OF THE YEAR KIWANIS CLUB OF LONG BEACH SOUTHBAY YOUTH MENTORS ICES BELL GARDENS ELEMENTARY BAND & STOMP LOMITA HALL VFW 1622 JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL DIAMOND DRILL TEAM MILITARY VEHICLE COLLECTORS CLUB (MVCC) LUIS MICHAEL ADAME AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS BANDA RANCHO ARROYO AMERICAN LEGION POST 496 NAACP AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS U.S. VETS - UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE MCAS EL TORO DETACHMENT 17 - MARINE CORPS LEAGUE MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT MONTFORD POINT MARINE ASSOCIATION JOSEPHINE CASTELLANOS SS LANE VICTORY SUNBURST YOUTH ACADEMY LONG BEACH ELKS LODGE 888 AMVETS DISTRICT 2 AMVETS POST 48 COMPTON SOUNDERS VETS FOR PEACE 067 IN LONG BEACH PHANITH R. SOVANN / MISS GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE ROW & VANILLA FIRE
A Salute to Those Who Served
now in its 17th year, the long beach Veterans Day Parade has grown from humble origins into a family-oriented event that attracts close to ten thousand people. themed “a Salute to those Who Served,” the parade is a way we all can honor our veterans, from all branches of the military and from all eras. “now, more than ever before, we need to let our troops know that they are supported and that we appreciate they are out there fighting for our freedom. that’s what this whole day of celebration is about,” said martha thuente, a member of the Veterans Day Parade committee. the long beach Veterans Day Parade has grown far beyond anything former City Councilman Jerry Shultz imagined back in 1996. his original goal was to create a patriotic event in long beach. he formed a committee of activists in north long beach, and they came up with the idea of having a parade. “one hundred and eight men from long beach were killed in Vietnam, and they were never recognized by their own city. these men came from all five of our local high schools. the Veterans Day parade was created to honor all branches of service from all of the wars,” said Shultz. “the parade has been going pretty strong for a long time now. i remember the very first parade. We had to pass the hat to get the money we needed to buy incidentals. and then we just kept growing, and getting bigger and bigger.” the first two years, the parade was held on labor Day weekend. in 1998 it was moved to Veterans Day weekend. “the first few years were very low key. We were really a hometown parade. then the parade began to grow, not only in terms of size but also in notoriety. about ten years ago we began working with a professional parade production company. We just keep growing and adding to the event,” said thuente. Echoing the sentiment, Jerry Shultz stated, “today the parade has a military grand marshal and honorary grand marshal. i urge everyone to come out, whether or not you were in the military, whether or not you have relatives that served in the military. as we speak, we’ve got several hundred thousand soldiers in harm’s way in iraq, afghanistan and other places around the world. it’s important that everyone comes out to show them how much we appreciate their service.”
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