NEW YORK(WCB S880) — Veterans Day commemorations looked different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The annual New York City parade, which normally features tens of thousands of marchers and hundreds of thousands of spectators along Fifth Avenue, went largely virtual and was streamed online at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Prior to the start of the day's events, a motorcade of around 100 vintage Jeeps, private cars and other vehicles headed down the parade route on Fifth Avenue. U.S. Navy officials also laid wreaths at Madison Square Park's eternal light flagstaff at 6 a.m.
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will once again paid tribute to service members past and present with a scaled back ceremony, that included a rifle salute.
The mournful sound of "Taps" filled the air and two wreaths were displayed on the Hudson River, but the flight deck of the Intrepid was mostly quiet.
"It'll be a poignant tradition, but in a smaller and more intimate fashion," said museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner.
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Veterans who were in attendance say the ceremony still was meaningful to them, despite being scaled back.
“We couldn’t celebrate our brothers good enough because of the pandemic, as you know, so it was a little surreal,” said 82-year-old Mike Callahan, who served on the ship in the late 50s. “I still know a lot of veterans, a lot of guys who served in here in World War II and of course we heard all the stories about a lot of fellas on here, because of kamikazes mostly.”
He said those are the people who he thinks about every Veterans Day.
Meanwhile, Stuart Gelban, who served on the ship in the 70s, says he is thinking of his brother who saw combat in Vietnam
“He survived it and he was damaged,” he said. “He had a lot of personal conflicts that he couldn't get past.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered remarks at the invitation-only ceremony, which preceded the virtual parade, but former crew members and the public were not on hand because of the pandemic.
"This year it just won't be possible and we want to protect them," Marenoff-Zausner said, but adds that it was still critical to hold the event. "We just really want to thank our veterans for all of their service, everyone who served in the past and today. We can't let that go, we can't miss that and we feel that it's our responsibility to bring light to it in this fashion on this day."
There's been light attendance and hours have been cut at the museum, but Marenoff-Zausner is confident about the future.
"There is no doubt in my mind we will be around next Veterans Day and the Veterans Days after that," she said.
The Intrepid was in service for 31 years.