Veterans Day Parade returns to NYC after 2020 cancellation
NEW YORK (AP) - The Veterans Day Parade returned to New York's Fifth Avenue on Thursday after being canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
The 102nd annual parade featured marching units, vintage military vehicles and elected officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio.
"It is a day to remember and to honor, but it should be the first day of what then becomes 365 days of honoring veterans through real actions," the Democratic mayor said at a ceremony in Madison Square Park that kicked off the Veterans Day observance.
De Blasio added, "If anywhere in this city, if anywhere in this country there is a homeless veteran, then we are not finished. We all have more to do. If anywhere there is a veteran suffering from a mental health challenge who is not getting the help he or she needs, we are not finished."
The parade was replaced by a socially distant pre-dawn car caravan in 2020.
A young spectator cheers as participants march up Fifth Avenue during the 102nd annual Veterans Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project carry a giant American flag as they march up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Participants ride in a vintage Jeep up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
World War II veteran George Rodriguez, 105, marches up Fifth Ave. with a little help from his son Hector during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Spectators cheer as participants march up Fifth Avenue during the 102nd annual Veterans Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Boy Scouts of American carry a giant American flag as they march up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Members of the U.S Coast Guard wave from a boat as they move up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
A participant dressed as Uncle Sam marches up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Participants toss flags as they march up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
A disabled veteran gives a child a flower as he marches up Fifth Avenue during the 102nd annual parade Veterans Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Participants march up Fifth Ave. during the 102nd annual Veterans Day parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Participants march up Fifth Avenue during the 102nd annual Veterans Day Parade, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
