In Their Honor Veterans Day Parade marches on despite snowstorm overtaking state all week | News

One of the organizers, John O’Donnell, said it was a “chaotic” five weeks getting everything set up last minute, giving a shoutout to his wife, Carol, for all her administrative assistance along the way.  

“We haven’t slept for five weeks,” O’Donnell said Friday afternoon with a light laugh.  

The O’Donnell’s originally hosted the annual Veterans Day Parade in Colorado Springs from 1993 to 1999. Then the parade was taken over by Colorado Springs Veterans Day Inc. in 2000, with only two cancellations since, this year and 2020 due to the pandemic.  

The parade this year was called off due to “lack of participation,” with only 51 entries confirmed. However, the revived event drew an incredible turnout, with 125 organizations comprising 117 entries as of Tuesday afternoon.  

“I couldn’t have planned it any better,” O’Donnell said. “Let’s just say the response was impressive.” 

Ahead of the parade start time, Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub hosted a reception where organizers and city officials gave brief comments before heading out to find a spot along the route.  

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade spoke briefly, highlighting how the city is constantly honoring its veterans, not just on holidays.  

“If I got $1 for every time I hear from a military service member, active or veteran who says, ‘we love this community and this community honors us,’ I think I’d be a rich person right now,” Mobolade said. “That’s just a testament of who we are.” 

President and CEO of Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Johnna Reeder-Kleymeyer also gave a small speech, thanking the members of the community that made Saturday’s parade possible.  

“Our community spirit is what makes this community different,” Reeder-Kleymeyer said. “We are a unique community that is dedicated to our veteran population and to our military installations.” 

The streets started to fill up with parade-goers well ahead of the actual start time. Thanks to the city for clearing all the snow leftover from the massive storm that rolled through, roads and sidewalks were clear and ready for attendees. Officials made jokes about the snow needed to be hauled away in dump trucks after overnight accumulations.  

Several attendees were emotional while awaiting the start of the parade, especially Army veteran Tony Bruszewski and his wife, Diana, who shed a few tears when asked about the importance of celebrating Veterans Day. 

“It is so important for us to remember and honor these guys because if we don’t, who’s going to stand up and protect us when we need it?” Tony said, holding back tears. “This is all volunteer and we need to be there just to let them know that we appreciate continuing to carry the torch for those of us who did before.” 

Six-year Navy veteran Josh Hays also lined up early with his wife, Nicholle, and spoke with The Gazette about the importance of respecting those who made the biggest sacrifice for the county. 

“We both come from families that have veterans,” Josh said. “It’s about respecting the people that aren’t here because they paid the ultimate price, honoring them.” 

Several others in attendance, both at Jack Quinn’s and along the parade route, agree that Colorado Springs is one of the most patriotic cities in the nation and holding Saturday’s parade was a necessity.  

“We were just identified as the third most patriotic city in America, but that’s not good enough for me, I want number one, we want to be number one,” City Council President Randy Helms said. “We all came together and said, we cannot let this (the parade) fail.”  

The parade itself was a success, leaving attendees walking away with smiles across their faces. There was a sense of community in the air, with strangers thanking others for their service all down the street.  

The Air Force Academy Band and 4th Infantry Division Army Band at Fort Carson led the parade down Tejon Street, performing together. Several high school bands appeared throughout the parade. 

Despite cancellations up in Denver due to weather, Colorado Springs still hosted the In Their Honor Veteran’s Day Parade Saturday afternoon! @csgazette pic.twitter.com/JLnnjAPdw1

— Mack Bodell (@mackenziebodell) November 9, 2024

Between 600 and 800 ROTC and Junior ROTC cadets came out to march in the parade, drawing lots of cheering and clapping from the sidewalks. The grand marshal for this year’s parade was the Lt. Gen. David Miller from the U.S. Space Command. 

One organization marching in the parade special to O’Donnell was the Canadian contingent from NORAD, which had a little over 100 members showing up Saturday, handing out Canadian flags. 

“They are our North American partners in NORAD, and I think it’s time the community could see (that.) I’m very pleased with them participating, and I hope everybody cheered them on,” O’Donnell said.  

Many thanks were given to the O’Donnell’s Saturday, from city officials to residents on the street. The past five weeks may have been exhausting; O’Donnell is glad to have helped the community in a time of need. 

“Thanks to John and Carol O’Donnell for stepping up, thanks to our business, thanks to Bob McLaughlin from Mt. Carmel,” Helms said. “The amount of funding that was raised was incredible. As a matter of fact, we’ve raised so much money we have leftover funding for next year’s parade.” 

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Publish date : 2024-11-11 02:00:00

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