NEW YORK — New York City will honor the nation's heroes with the 102nd Annual Veterans Day Parade along Fifth Avenue on Thursday.
The event begins at 11 a.m. with a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Light Flag Staff in Madison Square Park, followed by a 21-gun salute and "Taps."
The parade, which was a largely virtual affair last year due to the pandemic, will step off at 12:30 p.m. on 25th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Thousands of veterans and military members representing every service branch and generation since World War II will participate.
This year's parade features 200 marching units and marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the Global War on Terror, as well as the 30th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm.
The parade's Grand Marshal is Air Force veteran Kevin Carrick, a retired Senior Master Sergeant who served for over two decades as an elite Pararescueman with the 106th Rescue Wing based in Westhampton, Long Island.
Mayor Bill de Blasio will participate in the wreath-laying ceremony before delivering remarks and marching in the parade, which Gov. Kathy Hochul will also attend.
The parade will be broadcast and streamed online on ABC7.
The following streets will be closed for the parade from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
Formation:
West 24th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue
West 25th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue
West 27th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue
West 28th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue
West 24th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue
West 26th Street between 6th and Madison Avenue
West 23RD Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue
West 28th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue
Route:
5th Avenue between 24th and 48th Streets
Dispersal:
48th Street between 7th and Park Avenues
In Downtown Manhattan, Broadway between Liberty Street and Battery Place will also be closed for the Veterans Day Festival.
A commemorative wreath will be laid in the Hudson River in honor of former members of the USS Intrepid during a ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on the West Side at 3:30 p.m.
On Long Island, the Nassau and Suffolk Police Benevolent associations, along with the Nassau County Police Detective's Association and the Nassau County Police Superior Officers Association, will be hosting food drives at three supermarkets to benefit veterans facing hunger and food insecurity.
In New Rochelle, the American Legion will recognize one of its own, 100-year-old Leroy Fadem, who is among the oldest living World War II veterans.
In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy will take part in a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel.
In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown.
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