Carlsbad is going to have a very special Veterans Day celebration this year. This year’s parade will assemble at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 at the Carlsbad Intermediate School-P.R. Leyva (800 W. Church). The Eddy County Patriotic Association is organizing the parade and we’d love to have you participate. Please call Alberto at (575) 361-5848 if you have more questions about the parade. Signs ups are not required.
The parade will leave at 10 a.m. Nov. 11 and head south along Mesa Street, which then turns into Boyd Drive. If you want to watch this year’s Veteran’s Day parade, there are plenty of great spots along Mesa and Boyd. The parade will conclude in the northwest corner of the Carlsbad Cemetery off of Boyd, directly in front of the Adon Rodriguez Honor Guard Building.
This year’s Veteran’s Day ceremony will begin at around 10:30 a.m. Air Force Veteran and coaching legend John Tigert is this year’s parade marshal and keynote speaker. Tigert has a great story to tell about his own family’s military story, and he’ll also be introducing Greg Bland, who will be reciting a poem he wrote in honor of veterans. We will have plenty of seats available for anyone who wishes to attend. The Veteran’s Day ceremony will also be broadcast over the City’s Facebook page, if you are unable to make it. Alberto Villegas will serve as the Master of Ceremonies, and we appreciate all of his hard work.
After this part of the ceremony concludes, we will have a brief dedication for the Carlsbad Memorial Veterans Cemetery, which is being set up in this area. This cemetery will be dedicated to the burial to veterans, including reserves, as well as active duty service members.
Many other groups have organized ceremonies this week to honor our veterans. In fact, the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard has six ceremonies scheduled for this week. On Wednesday, the honor guard has been invited to raise the flag at the Carlsbad Prep Academy in the morning and then post flags at the Alejandro Ruiz Senior Center an hour later. On Thursday, the Honor Guard will participate in a flag raising ceremony at the Skeen Whitlock Building and then post flags at the North Mesa Center. The Honor Guard will join us for the Veteran’s Day ceremony at the cemetery. Finally, the guard will be posting flags at the Leo Sweet Center on the afternoon of Nov. 11. This is an incredibly dedicated group of veterans who volunteer their time. Thanks again to the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard for all of the hard work.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway