August 21st, 2024
“The Vietnam Veteran” will serve as Grand Marshal for parade on Saturday, November 9, 2024
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced Monroe County’s Third Annual Veterans Day Parade will be held Saturday, November 9, 2024. The parade will kick off at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of South Goodman Street and Highland Avenue and proceed up Highland Avenue to the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Gary Beikirch Park on South Avenue.
The Grand Marshal of this year’s parade will be “The Vietnam Veteran,” in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. A float will carry members of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20 as the centerpiece of the parade.
“This year’s parade is an opportunity for this community to show collectively how grateful we are for our Vietnam Veterans. It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate their unwavering dedication and sacrifices, and show our gratitude for their service,” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “The Veterans Day parade continues to grow every year as a fitting tribute to those who selflessly defend our freedom.”
“Our Vietnam Veterans live by the motto, ‘So that one generation of Veterans may never forget another.’ VVA Chapter 20 is the reason Monroe County is such a great place for Veterans to live today. It wasn’t always this way,” said Nick Stefanovic, Director of Monroe County’s Veterans Service Agency. “As an Iraq/Afghan War Veteran and the VSA Director, I am both personally and professionally grateful to them. County Executive Bello continues to put words into action as he announces this opportunity for our Vietnam Veterans to be shown gratitude by thousands at the Veterans Day parade this year.”
“I would like to thank everyone on the parade committee for selecting Vietnam Veterans as the Grand Marshall this year. We are honored to be asked and look forward to participating,” said Charles Klauck, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20. “The recognition of our service to our country comes just a few months before the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War.”
“It is a privilege to be the Parade Director and honor all our veterans and especially the Vietnam veterans this year as our grand Marshall,” said parade director Ed Schram. “We invite all families to witness the largest number of marching units of veteran organizations in Monroe county along enjoy the many family fun units after the parade.”
Monroe County Sheriff Todd K. Baxter and longtime radio host Alan “Brother Wease” Levin have served as the parade’s Grand Marshal in previous years.
This year’s parade will include musical marching units, veterans’ service organizations, law enforcement, military-style vehicles, high-ranking active duty service members and groups representing veterans of all eras and military branches. A family-oriented Honor Ceremony will immediately follow at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Any organization interested in registering to participate in the parade and honor ceremony should visit https://www.monroecounty.gov/vsa-parade for more information and an application.
