A spectator holds a "Thank you Veterans" sign as the junior RTC of Marcos De Niza High School marches down Mill Avenue during the Tempe Veterans Day parade, Monday morning. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)Tuesday is more than just a day off of school or work in the middle of the week.
Throughout the week, and the month of November, Americans across the country and overseas honor the service of veterans.
Across the Valley, there will be parades, memorials, celebrations and other events honoring those in the armed services and their families.
ASU and the Pat Tillman Veterans Center sponsored the “Salute to Service” events week, which includes performances, a career fair for veterans and a patriotic theme at Saturday's football game against Notre Dame.
Capt. Steve Borden, director of the Pat Tillman Veterans Center at ASU, coordinated the Salute to Service events and also helps aid student veterans throughout the year through the center.
Marching band members played songs representing each branch of the U.S. military, and the crowd got to witness an emotional military homecoming when Air Force Major Philip Wieser surprised his family on the field.
“We have had a lot of Salute to Service events, beginning last week, and they will wrap up Friday,” Borden said. “We had faculty training on all campuses to help faculty and staff better assist student veterans on campus. We’ve also had some veteran recruitment events with academic advisors from the majors that the veterans were interested in, and all veterans that applied through the recruitment events had their application fee waived as a way to thank them for their service.”
Borden also said he encourages students and citizens to attend the Veterans Project, which he calls an opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation between veterans.
“It will be a setting where the veterans are onstage to have a conversation between themselves,” Borden said. “They will be able to share their stories and the audience will have the opportunity to listen to the conversation.”
The Veterans Project will take place Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyceum Theatre on the Tempe campus.
Electrical engineering sophomore Huber Basurto said he plans to spend his day off for Veterans Day studying and preparing for exams.
However, Basurto has earned the extra study day. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009-13.
“I’m a veteran, so the day is special,” he said. “But I’m just going to use it to catch up on homework and study.”
Those looking to honor veterans Tuesday have a variety of options available throughout the Valley.
The Phoenix Veterans Day Parade begins at 11 a.m. on Bethany Home Road and Montebello Avenue. The parade will proceed down Central Avenue, turn east onto Camelback Road, head south on Seventh Street and end on Indian School Road.
Parade coordinator Paula Pedene said attendees can expect more than 100 entries, including nine bands, 16 floats, 24 marching units, antique cars, Humvees from the National Guard, baton twirlers, pageant queens, military hardware and more.
“We really want to give people an opportunity to learn more about veterans and our history,” Pedene said.
The Phoenix parade will be World War II themed, in honor of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, a turning point in the war, Pedene said.
“We want to honor our World War II veterans this year,” Pedene said. “We have a special float just for them which will include 36 World War II veterans. It’s going to be pulled by an antique tractor, and Humana will be assisting them throughout the parade, providing them with water and sunscreen and other things.”
Most of the World War II veterans that will be honored are over 90 years old, so they had a special float made to be easily safe and accessible.
Pedene encourages anyone who would like to volunteer to help organize events for veterans or contribute their time to working on a committee or board to contact her at HonoringAzVets@gmail.com.
“It is very important that we remember veterans on Veterans Day,” she said. “In the 11th hour of the eleventh day of the 11th month, the armistice was signed for World War I. This was the end of what they thought at the time was the war to end all wars. Veterans remember this day. It ties us to our history and is important to veterans.”
Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek
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