FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North was in Fresno, Friday as the Grand Marshall of the 2016 Veteran’s Day Parade.
The Parade is a source of pride for the Central Valley – billed as the largest veteran’s parade this side of the Mississippi.
The opening ceremony kicked off at 11:00 Friday morning, with prayer, the National Anthem, and Lt. Colonel North speaking a few words on how every day need to be a day that we collectively recognize veterans for their service to the United States.
Lieutenant Colonel North was also the guest of honor at the 241st Marine Corps Ball, Thursday night in Clovis.
4000 people participated in this year’s event. People along the route saw all shapes and sizes of floats, and pictures of veterans being honored as the parade it wound its way through Fresno to the final destination – Chukchansi Park.
Members of Fresno Fire, CHP, the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department were among the 150 entries this year, including entries by the CHP, The US Postal Service, Blue Star Moms, children marched from participating schools including Sunnyside, and the Edison High School Tigers, the Clovis Rotary has a car, and members of the VFW 8900 and Troop 8900 also walked the parade route (pictured below right is Troop Leader Brian Dolan, below left is his son and newly-enlisted Marine, Zach Dolan).
Parade Route Coordinator Alfred Flores (pictured below left with wife Gloria Flores) said this year saw an increase of about a thousand people taking part in the event from the 3,000 that were present in 2015.
Families like Kelly Trevino and her kids (Kelly pictured below, top row, 2nd from left) came for the chance to see the people who kept the US safe, and salute the veterans. One little girl along the route exclaimed “I was just learning about them in school!” when she saw the Big Sandy Rancheria tribal members march past.
Click below to hear a report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
