The Columbia 45th annual Veterans Day Parade Kicks off

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The City of Columbia is conducting the 45th annual Veterans Day Parade, where all who have served will be honored.

The parade — one of the largest in the Southeast for the holiday, according to the City — starts at Sumter and Laurel Streets at 11 a.m. Friday. The route travels southbound on Sumter Street and ends at Pendleton Street near the State House.

Participants include the Fort Jackson 282nd Army Band and over 300 basic trainees from the installation, the South Carolina National Guard, multiple high school marching bands, first responders and more.

This year’s Grand Marshal is Vietnam Veterans to honor their service and sacrifice, as well as recognize the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Vietnam in March 1973.

“We are a great American Defense Community and have tremendous pride for and appreciation of all our veterans who bravely served our country protecting our freedoms,” the City said in a press release. “The parade is a great opportunity to say thank you to our veterans for your service and thank your spouses and families for their support and sacrifice as well.”

WIS will cover the entire event on air and online with our Judi Gatson and Greg Adaline as emcees.

You can watch the full parade below:

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article’s headline.

Stay up to date with WIS News 10. Get the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and Stream us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV.

Copyright 2023 WIS. All rights reserved.