Annual Veterans Day Parade takes over Main Street in Danville

With sirens blaring, horns honking and engines revving, the array of vehicles and their drivers in Danville’s Veterans Day Parade sent a collective and resounding “thank you” to area veterans Sunday afternoon.

Hundreds of people lined the sidewalks of Main Street in downtown Danville on a balmy November afternoon to honor local veterans before the nation celebrates Veterans Day on Wednesday. Local high school JROTC members marched in solidarity shouting cadences while caravans of local American Legion posts, the Danville Shrine Club and other similar groups smiled and waved to the crowds.

Andrew Plummer, 14, and Willie Fitzgerald, 14, are Navy JROTC members at George Washington High School who marched with their unit in the parade. Both dressed in their impeccably pressed black uniforms, they both said they hoped to enlist with the Marines.

“They sacrificed their life for a lot of people standing here today,” Plummer said of the local veterans.

Fitzgerald, who is also considering joining the Air Force, said his father served 21 years in the military.

“I want to follow in the same footsteps as he did,” Fitzgerald said.

American flags and banners reading “We Support Our Troops,” flapped in the warm breeze as children scrambled for candy tossed from the windows of the passing cars, trucks and tractors. Danville resident Ronald Carson, who came to see his granddaughter in the parade, did not serve in the military.

“I appreciate what they did, though,” Carson said.

Local Girl and Boy Scout troops walked proudly down Main Street past waving flags and high school marching bands trumpeted patriot music. A bevy of shining Ford Mustangs and a handful of vintage cars filled the street amid a few friendly mascots seeking hugs.

Danville resident Torres “Tee” Terry served seven years as a firefighter in the United States Air Force in Arkansas, Wyoming and Guam. He and his three brothers all served in the Air Force.

“I have a special place in my heart for the military,” Terry said. “Anything we can do to show we care that the veterans here kept us free and safe.”