Parades, ceremonies, meal to mark Veterans Day

Two parades, three ceremonies and a meal are among Monroe County's plans for Veterans Day. Local festivities are set for Nov. 10-13.

Parades

• Monroe's second annual Veterans Day Parade will begin at 3 p.m. Nov. 11 at St. Mary's Park, 111 W. Elm Ave. Lineup will begin at 2.

The parade will travel from the parking lot down Monroe Street to the City of Monroe's Department of Public Services facility on Jones Avenue. Monroe Street will be closed for approximately one hour for the parade.

All are welcome. All parade entries must have a veteran theme.

“We should have a parade bigger than last year’s, with additional vehicles and floats,” organizer Wayne Blank said. “I hope we can have better weather than last year, but, even if we don’t, it will still happen.”

The Monroe County Library System’s bookmobile will be downtown 1-2 p.m.

To participate in the parade, call Ralph at 734-755-3201 or Wayne at 734-770-0201.

• The 10th annual Luna Pier Veterans Day Parade will begin at noon Nov. 11 in Luna Pier.

The lineup will begin at 10 a.m. at Water Tower Park, 11309 Harold Drive. The parade will depart from Water Tower Park and travel south on Harold Drive to Luna Pier Memorial Park.

Among the parade participants will be the Ida High School Band and members of Erie Post 3925, Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Auxiliary.

Military families can bring a loved one’s photo for the military family float. Photos must arrive at Water Tower Park by 11:30 a.m. Nov. 11.

A ceremony will follow the parade and will include speakers, commemorative rites for veterans, a ritual team gun salute and the playing of Taps.

For more information, email Lyn at lynrichardson2741@gmail.com.

Ceremonies

• The annual Veterans Day remembrance ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Veterans Wall at Wilson Park in Milan.

“The names of fallen military personnel are on that wall. We have an honor guard and 21-gun salute,” said Angela Jaworski, commander of Milan Post 68, American Legion.

Among those honored this year will be Richard “Ranger Rick” Wilson, a well-known post member who died recently. His service dog, Gabriel, was the post’s mascot, Jaworski said.

• The 2023 Monroe County Veterans Celebration will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts, 114 S. Monroe St. Admission is free.

Wayne Blank, an Air Force veteran, will give opening comments. Colors will be presented by Civil Air Patrol, Sea Cadets and Young Marines. The Rev. Curtis Garland, pastor of East Ida Immanuel Lutheran Church and a Navy veteran, will give the blessing. A POW-MIA table will honor those still missing, Blank said.

Miss Monroe County 2023 Reese Johnson will sing the national anthem. Other guests will be the River Raisin Sweet Adelines, Bedford Cloggers, a veterans band, Monroe Community Singers and the JRROTC Drill Team from Holland, Ohio, which is led by First Sgt. Rickey Thomas.

The guest speaker will be Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Terrill B. ”Terri” Stewart. She enlisted in the Army Reserve in May 2005 during the Iraq/Afghanistan War.

“She will speak about joining when she was 39 because of her family being in the service,” Blank said.

When she completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Stewart was the oldest ever to graduate, at age 40. She received an award for highest score in physical fitness.

Her first assignment was a paralegal specialist for the 405th Civil Affairs Battalion in Pleasant Grove, Utah. She also had been a court reporter on 50 administrative separations, and she was a senior paralegal for the 807th Medical Command at Fort Douglas, Utah. In 2012, Stewart completed the Criminal Investigation Division's Special Agent Course and was mobilized for two years in support of Task Force RAPTOR.

She was deployed to Afghanistan to support Task Force Justice and the National Security Justice Development Directorate. She also served in Germany and Poland. She's completed training in hostage negotiations, special victims unit investigations and domestic violence intervention. She's a certified recovery diver.

Stewart received numerous military awards, including the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a Campaign Star and the National Defense Service Medal.

Today Stewart is an operations officer for the 323rd Military Police Detachment in Jackson. She and her husband of 31 years have three children and five grandchildren.

• Area veterans are invited to Dundee Elementary and Middle schools' annual Veterans Drive-by Parade, set for Nov. 10.

“The students will be outside to recognize the veterans passing, with lots of flag waving and cheering for the veterans. All veterans all encouraged to attend and let the students recognize and thank them for their service,” Larry Cymbola, commander of Post 6462, Veterans of Foreign Wars, said.

Veterans who want to participate should be at the Dundee Veterans Club, 418 Dunham St., by 8:30 a.m. At 9, Dundee Fire Department will lead veterans in their cars past the schools.

The ceremony was once an indoor event.

"I've been a member of the Vets Club for 22 years and, as far back as I remember, Dundee Elementary and Middle schools have always done a program for Veterans Day," Cymbola said. “Prior to the COVID, they would invite veterans to the school and hold a program in the gymnasium, with each grade taking turns doing their program. When the COVID restrictions went into effect, Cindy Elderbrock from the school contacted me stating they would still like to pay respect to veterans and ran the idea of a drive-by parade by me. The first parade was a huge success. When restrictions were lifted, Cindy and I agreed to keep doing the parade, as the students and vets thought it was a lot of fun being outside and interacting with the students."

For more information, call Cymbola at 734-625-7401 or Edelbrock at 734-529-2350, ext. 13416.

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Meal

A beef stew dinner for veterans will begin at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 11 at Monroe Post 1138, Veterans of Foreign Wars post home, 400 Jones Ave. Meals will be served until food runs out.

The meal is offered by Monroe Post 1138 and its Auxiliary.

The dinner is free for veterans. Those who are not veterans can offer a donation.

— To report other Veterans Day events, email events@monroenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Parades, ceremonies, meal to mark Veterans Day