FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A flood of red, white and blue filled the streets of Downtown Fresno on Tuesday at the 106th Central Valley Veterans Day Parade.
From local law enforcement to high school bands, groups from across the Valley came together to celebrate the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces.
Community members, young and old, stood proud to celebrate those who gave of themselves to protect the safety of our country.
“What veterans have been through isn’t easy, so it’s really good that we can come out here and honor them,” said Bella Rodriguez.
Her grandfather served in the military.
“Just to see the city come together like this means a lot, especially being a Californian and my dad is my hero,” said Sydney Hobbs.
Hobbs was one of thousands who came out to watch from the sidewalk.
Beside her sat the reason for her pride in the parade, her father, an air force veteran.
“That’s my hero and that’s the person who has shown me what type of person to be in this world and how to accept anybody,” Hobbs said.
Lining the streets were veterans donning hats and jackets commemorating their time in service, and plenty of them rode that wave of appreciation through the parade route as well.
Gilbert Mendez, a crew chief in the Vietnam War, was one of many veterans taking a well-deserved moment to appreciate their own sacrifice, saying, “I wanna cry, because it was hard. But I came back. That’s the main thing, I came back.”
Event organizers made it clear that the planning for next year’s Veterans’ Day parade is already underway, and they can’t wait to do it all again for their local heroes.
