Fundraising success enhances Los Banos Veterans Parade

Dedicated planning and fundraising is yielding a larger and more engaging veterans parade this year.

Saturday’s Los Banos Veterans Parade, the third annual event hosted by the Los Banos Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2487 and American Legion Post 166, is honoring Vietnam War veterans this year with the theme “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans.”

Last year, the parade recognized veterans of the Korean War.

This year, fundraising efforts have allowed officials to waive parade entry fees for veterans.

“Our main goal this year was that we didn’t want any veteran, or veteran’s family or business to have to pay,” parade chair Monica Gallagher said, noting that last year’s entry fee was $20.

Gallagher organized 15 fundraising dinners this year. Including donations, fundraising topped $8,000 as of Tuesday, she said.

The parade will start with an opening ceremony at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Sixth and J streets.

Up to 75 displays will parade along a route that starts at the intersection of Sixth and K streets, heads north to I Street, west to Fourth Street, north to F Street, east to Fifth Street and north to E Street.

More than 45 veterans will be honored throughout the parade.

“We also reached out to surrounding communities, Fresno, Merced,” Gallagher said. “We sent out an invite to every entry also entering the Fresno and Merced parades. They’re coming to ours. It is going to be huge.”

In addition to the parades, two Los Banos veterans of the U.S. Air Force will fly over the parade at noon in a Lockheed MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft.

“People should come out and see the parade,” said organizer Michael Hughes, former police chief of Los Banos and a Vietnam War veteran in the Air Force. “Some veterans gave a lot, some gave everything. ... I think it’s important to honor the veterans of this country.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Fundraising success enhances Los Banos Veterans Parade."