Veterans lauded in Merced

Children waived flags, engines rumbled and school bands marched in Merced on Friday during the 12th annual Veterans Day Parade.

Main Street was lined with hundreds of people waiving tiny flags and applauding the veterans who passed them in classic and modern cars, and even a tractor.

The parade and annual ceremony took on extra meaning for the day’s speakers, who talked about this week’s election and the days following it.

“We had the benefit this past week of a national election and the opportunity for us to go to the polls and vote,” Merced County Supervisor Hub Walsh said. “And it really is (because of) those veterans who’ve gone around the world, stood in our stead, (that we had) that opportunity.”

Walsh is also a two-year veteran of the Army.

Marching bands performed in the parade, and horseback riders showed off the dances of their steeds.

The day’s keynote speaker was Jim Price, Atwater’s mayor and 21-year veteran of the Air Force. He, too, noted this week’s election of Republican candidate Donald Trump and the demonstrations that have sprung up around California.

Price said “despite how you feel” about the protests, people are allowed to voice their opinions under rights awarded to them, thanks to the sacrifice of veterans.

Price, who joined the Air Force in 1968, talked about his experience as a veteran. He went on to say he wears many hats as a mayor and business owner, but on Friday was literally wearing an Air Force hat.

“This is the one I’m most proud of, the one that identifies me and 21 years in the Air Force,” he said. “The best years of my life.”

The 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard provided a flyover before the parade started.

This year also marked the first holiday including the new honorary Veterans Boulevard signs on M Street. Signs have been hung by Merced Sunrise Rotary on M Street at the intersections of Yosemite and Olive avenues, and 16th and Main streets.

Several veterans were honored as parade grand marshals, including Doug Torres, Normand Coultier, Samuel Estrada, Chuck Fennessy, Joe Biscaglio, Jose Hurtado and Bob Abasta.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said the families of veterans make their own sacrifices. He also told the crowd to remember that there are people serving in the armed forces at this moment.

“Today, they are on duty to protect those freedoms we hold dear,” he said.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Veterans lauded in Merced."