Shreveport, Bossier City chosen as site for official Veteran's Day parade

  • Published
  • By Staff. Sgt. Mike Andriacco
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Shreveport, Bossier City chosen as site for official Veteran's Day parade

As part of the national Veteran's Day celebration, Barksdale will team up with the local community as one of only 41 approved regional sites in the United States for official festivities.

A formal parade and massing of the colors is scheduled to start at the Bossier Parish Community College at 10 a.m. Nov. 7, with Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Littrell officiating as the grand marshal.

More than 225 Airmen from Barksdale will be participating in the parade carrying unit colors as well as every national flag since the Revolutionary War. The parade represents the largest massing of colors in the state, one of the largest in the nation, and the flags will be on display at the Bossier Civic Center Nov. 7-9.

Also participating will be almost 150 veterans from every major conflict since World War II, prisoners of war, Purple Heart recipients and local Reserve Officer Training Corps' units.

"It's important for the whole nation to come together to honor Veteran's Day and particularly important today with the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan," said retired Col. Robert Slane, former Barksdale base commander and WWII prisoner of war. "Young Airmen today are maybe facing more difficulties than we ever have before in some ways and they are standing up very well to the challenge."

Leading up to the events off base, Command Sergeant Major Littrell is scheduled to speak at two separate events on base. There will be a lunch at noon Nov. 6 in Hoban Hall as well as a dinner that evening at 6 p.m. Everyone on base is encouraged to attend the events and should see their first sergeant to sign up. The cost is $10 for lunch and $25 for dinner.

"Attending the luncheon and dinner will be a fantastic venue to hear the experiences of this genuine war hero," said Capt. Steven Oliver, 2d Maintenance Squadron operations officer. "He is a person no different from you or me, but was motivated to perform an extraordinary act in the face of adversity. The highest military honor is bestowed on only a few and some receive it posthumously. To have a living legend in our midst promises to be a rare and stirring event."

Veteran's Day has a long and storied history as a day to honor those who have fought to end conflict as members of the United States armed forces and was originally called Armistice Day. Armistice Day commemorated the cease-fire and end of hostilities between Allied Forces and Germany in World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Seven months later the formal treaty was signed. For that reason, Nov. 11 was regarded as the date the "war to end all wars" was ended, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

After WWII required the largest mobilization of military forces in history, President Eisenhower signed HR7786, officially changing Armistice Day to Veteran's Day on June 1, 1954.

Because of the honor veterans of the United States have earned through their selfless service, the national holiday continues to serve as a reminder of the dedication of the American military and how they have helped forge the nation into what it is today.