Veterans Day Parade goes on despite rain, cold

The National Veterans Day Parade, a Birmingham tradition since 1947, was held downtown in cold, rainy conditions on the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 12.

The parade itself was shorter than usual, and the crowd seemed smaller than in 2017 due to the weather, but the people who attended seemed to enjoy the event.

Due to ongoing construction on Interstate 20/59, the parade did not follow its usual route through the central business district.

Instead, it was held in Midtown and Parkside and wrapped around Railroad Park and Regions Field.

The 2018 parade placed special emphasis on World War I, according to Mark Ryan, president of the National Veterans Day Foundation. Sunday was the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the Nov. 11 holiday that was created at the end of WWI and became Veterans Day in 1954.

“We wanted to make that a significant part of the parade,” Ryan told Iron City Ink recently.

The parade start point this year was at Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. and First Avenue South at the Rainbow Viaduct.

The bridge is named in honor of the soldiers from Jefferson County who fought in Europe as part of the U.S. Army 167th Infantry, Rainbow Division, according to bhamwiki.com

The parade then headed west on Third Avenue South, turned north at 14th Street South and passed, then turned east on First Avenue South and ended at 20th Street South.

The event also honored Vietnam War-era vets, as well, according to Weeks.

He told Iron City Ink that organizers wanted to get as many Vietnam vets in the parade as possible, especially since they often were not honored properly when they returned home from the unpopular conflict in the 1960s and 1970s.

“We can try to recognize and honor them now for what they did not receive when they returned home,” he said.