It’s time to pick up your American flag and wave it proudly!
The 29th Annual Bronx Veterans Day Parade in Throggs Neck will step off at noon from E. Tremont Avenue and Lafayette Avenue on Sunday, November 10.
The parade route will turn at Randall Avenue and then make another turn onto Throggs Neck Expressway, with a reviewing stand at Bicentennial Veterans Memorial Park.
The grand marshals for this year’s parade will be veterans advocate and author Johnnie Williams; Jim Connell, director of communications and government relations for the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Gene Lynch, founder of The Never Forget Foundation.
Gene Lynch .
Williams helps fellow Bronx veterans with everything from navigating the federal bureaucracy for benefits to helping them start a business.
“I love it because this is what I really love to do, and even if they did not honor me, I would still do it, because that is what I love to do,” he said, adding “I still think veterans should be treated better than they are.”
Gene Lynch, a Throggs Neck native who is not a veteran, founded the Never Forget Foundation to help wounded vets and also remember 9/11 first responders. He created a portable Wall of Honor listing the names of service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He urged the public to come out to the parade “to acknowledge the veterans for what they have done and continue to do for us.”
This year’s honorary grand marshals – deceased service members – are Ted Hansen, Ken Champlin, Bobby Hoyt, Nick Mileo, and Charlie Baasch.
“We are confident that turnout will be strong and we hope that it continues to increase,” the parade committee said in a statement. “The support from the people of the Bronx makes us proud.”
As he does every year, Senator Jeff Klein will host a pre-parade breakfast for those marching and will be conferring additional honors on veterans.
