What: Veterans Day Parade
When: November 11th, 2009, 9 AM to 11 AM
Details:
All scouts are expected to march with the troop in the annual Veterans Day parade.
We will meet at Brady’s Package Store parking lot opposite the CVS at 9:00 AM to issue gear and prepare for the parade.
Please assemble in FULL uniform with comfortable shoes. Please do not wear your sash.
Parents, please pick up your son promptly after the parade at Abigail Adams Middle School. We typically march behind the school and remove our gear. Your best bet might be to park on Academy Avenue, or at the Academy Avenue school and walk up to the middle school to meet your son.
The parade typically ends at 11 AM when the observences begin at Town Hall on the memorial green.
We will be wearing the following troop gear, which must be returned by your son at the end of the parade to the troop leaders. All scouts will carry a flag, a banner, or perform with the drum corps.
· Campaign hat
· White leggings or gaiters
· Red wool coat (weather dependant)
What is Veterans Day and why do we march?
Veterans Day is more than a holiday from school and work, and more than an excuse for parade. On Veterans Day we recognize the service and sacrifice of the members of our Armed Forces – our soldiers, sailors and airmen who give up their time, risking their lives to assure we continue to live in a free society. They defend and protect our constitutional rights, and serve as our strength both in this country and abroad.
Veterans Day started as Armistice Day – recognizing the end of World War 1 – called “The Great War” and “The War to End All Wars”. The significance of the day itself relates to the day the treaty to end hostilities in that war was signed, which was on the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. After World War 2 this day was changed to recognize all veterans, not just those of the First War, and on this day we humbly and solemnly thank those service members, who serve both in peacetime and in war.
Observances for the day include a parade, where we march alongside the veterans, with other groups, all honoring their service and sacrifice. We bring our flags and drum corps, and we respectfully march the parade route to the amphitheater next to Town Hall, where the names of the dead from Weymouth are inscribed in remembrance of their sacrifices.
So, when we march, be sure to acknowledge the veterans you see along the parade route. Nod, salute, or simply say Thank You. They served our country, and preserved our way of life.
