Memorial Day Parade

Memorial is on of the days Grand Lake hosts a parade.  And for Grand Lake, it's pretty good sized parade.  And on a day when Trail Ridge Road is closed, like today, there can be fewer people in the parade and watching it.  Add rain and/or snow, and there's another potential drop. 

Today they weren't lined up 4 and 5 deep, but there were few, if any, gaps along the parade route -- all 5 blocks, or so.  You'd be surprised how many vets were in our parade.  Our whole county has fewer people than many of the smaller towns on the other side of the "hill". 

Just last Friday Tom was talking with the organizer of many of our parades and he asked Tom to join the other veterans in the parade.  This is his first time marching with the other vets.  The guys in uniform did a better job of marching in step, the other group had a marching song to help keep them nearer to being in step.

Color Guard

 

First the active duty military

then veterans from many decades, mostly without uniforms

If you look on the far side of the street, in the black jacket, with a white candy bag ... it's Tom!

 

And, the rest of the veterans

And a tribute to those still missing

 

 

To cap off the parade, the color guard and special guests present a ceremonial raising of the colors.  The flag they raised was originally presented to Nursie Young, a Pearl Harbor survivor.  Each part of the ceremony is presented by a vet or someone closely related to the vets.  One touching moment was when the MC asked all veterans and active duty service members to raise their hands and keep them up so the rest of us could look around and identify one or more to shake hands or give a hug later, to thank them for their service.

 

I'll keep the photos to just the veterans, but every parade we see local businesses of every size, local clubs, and it's an excuse to ride your horse in town, or walk your dog down the middle of Grand Avenue.  And, the sheriff, fire and other emergency services; even the dog catcher was in the parade today.