CHARLESTON, W.Va – A moment to recognize those that served the United States in the military comes back to Charleston on Tuesday, with American Legion John Brawley Post 20 holding its 84th annual Veterans Day parade.
The parade begins in downtown Charleston at 11am Tuesday, a date and time that are both meaningful.
“The 11th day, the 11th hour, we commemorate Veterans Day every November, and this is their 84th consecutive parade and ceremony,” Post 20 member and combat veteran Mara Boggs said on 580 Live with Dave Allen.
According to Boggs, Post 20’s parade has gone uninterrupted for the last 84 years, including one year that the parade was done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. She believes that the continued support is a credit to West Virginia’s support for those who served.
“In West Virginia, it seems to me that every day is Veterans Day. If you aren’t a veteran, you’re related to a veteran, you know a veteran, you love a veteran, and it’s just who we are as West Virginians, she said.
The parade route goes from Kanawha Boulevard, down Capitol Street, and left onto Quarrier Street and then onto Court Street before finishing at Haddad Riverfront Park. A short ceremony will be held around noon following the completion of the parade with guests including Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin, former West Virginia National Guard Adjutant General Bill Crane, World War II veteran Jack Van Dyke, and many others.
“Who knows who else will be there. People just end up showing up. They just end up gathering for this ceremony. It’s always such a special ceremony,” Boggs said.
Additionally, members of the George Washington High School JROTC will be part of the ceremony following the parade. Boggs said it inspires her to see the next generation of West Virginians be so willing to serve.
“When you see those kids in uniform, at least as a veteran who served and whose family all served, it’s special to see that, that they want to step forward in military service, that they’re willing to do that, and it motivates me,” she said.