Live Blog: Veterans Day parade

Color Guard at the Ottawa Veterans Day parade

Ottawa Veterans Day Parade By Kate Shelton

            Ottawa, Kan. had its annual Veterans Day parade on Nov. 9. The parade took place on Main Street and stretched a couple of miles.

Hundreds of veterans and civilians lined the streets to watch the parade with a special recognition of veterans at the beginning of the parade. There were also special events afterwards such as reenactments and other activities in a nearby park.

The American Legion Riders and various VFW posts, along with other organizations took place in the parade.

Chris Shupert, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, stood in attendance at the parade. Shupert grew up in Ottawa and always went to the annual parade every year. This is the first time he went since he got out of the military.

“The parade had a lot of different organizations taking place,” Shupert said. “It was well organized and was a good event for Veterans Day.”

Veterans Memorial in downtown Ottawa, Kan.

Another attendee, Emma, said she enjoyed the event as well. Emma went when she was a little kid because her dad participated in the WWII reenactments and was in the parade. This is the first time Emma has been in over five years.

“It’s a lot different than I remember from coming as a little kid,” Emma said. “I still enjoyed it just as much seeing veterans respected like that.”

Veterans Day events will continue Nov. 10 and on Monday Nov. 11 for the actual holiday. The city of Ottawa will hold the parade again next year.

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