ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The fifth annual Monroe County Veterans Day Parade took place in Rochester on Saturday.
The parade started at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of South Goodman Street and Highland Avenue. It then headed up Highland Avenue, reaching the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Gary Beikirch Park, within Highland Park on South Avenue.
The parade included marching units, veterans’ service organizations, military-style vehicles, and veterans representing all eras and military branches.
“Every year it seems like there’s more and more participants in the parade, the community. I think we thought it was going to be bad weather today, and I guess there’s a special connection to the weather gods up there, and we had really great weather. We’d love to see a lot of people out here walk the parade route and talk to people on the way. It’s always, always, always just heartwarming to see the support from the community,” said Stacy Babcock, who served in the U.S. Army for almost 42 years and has since retired. She also talked about her enjoyment to reconnect with those who were involved in the parade.
The Grand Marshal of this year’s parade was New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran who enlisted after the 9/11 attacks. He’s a recipient of the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, the Afghan Campaign Medal, and other honors.
After the parade, a ceremony took place to honor veterans.
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