New York City Veterans Day Parade Returns In-Person For 1st Time In 2 Years

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York City is hosting its first Veterans Day Parade in two years.

Other events honoring our heroes will also be held around the city, after being scaled back last year because of the pandemic.

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COVID protocols will be in place, but organizers say since the parade is an outdoor event, it is open to guests regardless of vaccination status.

While Memorial Day honors those who died in military service, Veterans Day celebrates all the brave men and women, both the living and the dead.

The in-person return of the 102nd annual New York City Veterans Day Parade will begin with a solemn wreath laying ceremony from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Eternal Light Flag Staff in Madison Square Park. The parade starts promptly after at 12:30 p.m.

Roughly 200 marching units, including bands, floats and vintage vehicles, will step off at 29th Street and Fifth Avenue and march north up Fifth Ave. to 45th Street.

“This year, we are back,” parade organizer Nick Angione, chairman of the United War Veterans Council, told CBS2. “The parade is the biggest time to really say, ‘thank you,’ and celebrate veterans on Veterans Day.”

Veterans will also be celebrated at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The museum will host its annual commemorative wreath laying in the Hudson River from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The festivities already started there Wednesday. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the Salute to Freedom Gala, where he presented the inaugural Intrepid Valor Award.

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The celebrations won’t fade when the sun goes down. Iconic New York buildings, including the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building, will shine bright in red, white and blue to pay tribute.

New York City’s parade is the largest Veterans Day event in the country. This year, it will also commemorate 20 years since the 9/11 terror attacks.

There will be plenty of road closures in place, so keep that in mind.

Meanwhile, other Veterans Day events are happening across the Tri-State Area.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will take part in a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel.

Newark will honor veterans who now serve as first responders with a commemoration at Public Safety headquarters on Clinton Avenue.

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano will recognize local veterans for their service during a ceremony at Yonkers Memorial Plaza on South Broadway.

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On Long Island, Girl Scouts will collect supplies for veterans in need. They will be in the Applebees parking lot on Montauk Highway in Shirley.