
Streets were closed down as motorcycles, JROTC cadets, and military veterans strode down 5th Avenue today for the annual Veteran's Day parade in New York City.
The rain wasn't enough to stop the event as spectators, construction workers, and vets lined up to watch. An estimated 20,000 people participated in the city's 103rd annual parade. JROTC and the Boy Scouts of America led out at the front, closely followed by a motorcade of NYPD and civilian motorcycles.

"It brings back a lot of memories," said Jim Andreadis to CBS News at the parade. Now 96 years old, he recalled fighting through Germany on a Sherman tank. "It was tough for an 18-year-old, and I don't know how I survived."
This year the parade was overseen by Grand Marshall Vince Patton, a first for a Black veteran. Patton served in the Coast Guard as a Master Chief.
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