The largest Veterans Day parade in the country filled Fifth Avenue with thousands of marchers and spectators who braved freezing temperatures to salute those who served. It became a day of flags, salutes and stories of sacrifice that stretched across generations.
Thousands lined Fifth Avenue to celebrate 250 years of American military service. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps were honored along a route from 26th Street to 50th Street, where veterans, active-duty troops and Gold Star families marched as New Yorkers packed the barricades in freezing wind to say thank you.
Kids waved homemade signs. Parents wrapped scarves around shivering shoulders. Spectators clapped until their hands turned red.
Before the parade kicked off, the crowd heard messages of sacrifice, unity and pride during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Light Flagstaff in Madison Square Park.
Stephen Peck, a Vietnam veteran and grand marshal, stepped up to the microphone with a reminder of what the parade represents.
“It is a token of our respect that we remember them, not just on this day, but on every day that we enjoy the fruits of their sacrifice,” Peck said.
Service That Spans Generations
Veterans told Military.com that New Yorkers continue to show deep support for the military.
James Taylor, who served in the Navy beginning in 1968, walked up Fifth Avenue shaking the hand of nearly every spectator he passed and thanking them for coming out in the cold.
“More and more people have respect for the uniform,” he told Military.com. “Everything I did during the war paid off. I would do it all again.”
A wreath-laying ceremony opened old memories for Mary Lynch Westmoreland, of Westchester County—an Army veteran and proud retiree. She said the moment brought back thoughts of friends lost during the Gulf War and the families who still carry that weight.
“It humbled me to lay that wreath,” Westmoreland told Military.com. “You definitely don’t forget to show up.”
Her family serves, too. She said her husband is a veteran and her daughter joined the Army after college.
“Service is huge in a world where it is often taken for granted,” she added.
NYC is a Military Town
New York does not look like a typical military community; there is no sprawling active-duty base in Midtown. Yet the crowd told a different story.
New York City’s Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, told Military.com that the city takes pride in its veterans and their families.
“This is a town that cares deeply about America,” Iscol said. “There is a big military presence in the tri-state area. This is a city that is committed to showing support and love on a day like today.”
The show of support comes at a time when military families across the country are still facing hardship. Many continue to feel the effects of the shutdown.
Family, Honor and History
Spectators said the parade matters because it shows the country still cares. One family came from Ridge, Long Island, to honor Matt, a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan. He made it home but later died from meningitis. His 14-year-old nephew, Jeremiah Engel, held a small flag for him.
“I am proud of the country. We have the freedom to come to parades and to show off our country,” Engel told Military.com.
He said service is about helping others and remembering those who protected American freedoms.
The parade unfolded just one day while some Veterans Day ceremonies were canceled at universities and national cemeteries across the country during the shutdown, outlined in Canceled Celebrations.
Navy Master Chief James Taylor, who enlisted in 1968, said the parade shows that respect for service has grown over the years.
“I loved the Navy, loved my experience,” he told Military.com. “More people have respect for the uniform than when we came back from Vietnam.”
The Marine Corps’ milestone year also hung over the march, as the service marked its 250-year history of sacrifice and tradition.
The city answered with cheers along Fifth Avenue, proof that service to country still matters to the nation’s largest city. Every salute, handshake and flag told the same story: Americans do not forget.
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