CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Where to celebrate Veterans Day in North Texas this year

Fort Worth Star-Telegram - 11/9/2022

North Texas has big plans for this year’s Veterans Day celebration, including a themed parade.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday that is celebrated on Nov. 11 every year to honor all veterans who have served or are currently serving in the military. The first Veterans or “Armistice” Day, was proclaimed in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson to honor World War I veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Since World War I, Armistice Day was celebrated every Nov. 11 and made a federal holiday in the U.S. in 1938. After World War II and the Korean War, several veteran organizations made pleas to strike the word “Armistice,” which means a truce, from the name and call the Nov. 11 holiday simply, Veterans Day.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued legislation to change “Armistice Day” to Veterans Day, and that is how the holiday has been celebrated ever since. Here’s what North Texas has to offer for this year’s Veterans Day festivities:

Tarrant County Veterans Day Parade

The annual Tarrant County Veterans Day Parade is on Friday morning and this year’s theme is “Saluting Buffalo Soldiers.”

Hosted by the City of Fort Worth and organized by the Tarrant County Veterans Council, the event will be led this year by parade grand marshal Maj. Gen. Anthony Woods, commander of the Texas State Guard headquartered at Camp Mabry in Austin.

In 1866, Congressional legislation created six all-Black peacetime regiments who became know as “The Buffalo Soldiers.” While there are different theories on how the nickname started, a prevalent theory is that the Plains Native Americans who fought the Buffalo Soldiers thought their dark, curly hair resembled buffalo fur, according to National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Buffalo Soldiers mainly supported western expansion across the U.S., by protecting settlers, building infrastructure and guarding mail service. On Sept. 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died at 111 years old.

This year’s Tarrant County Veterans Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday at Panther Island Pavilion, 395 Purcey St. Parade. Participants will march down North Forrest Park Boulevard along the Clear Fork side of the Trinity River and returning back to the pavilion.

Arlington Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony

Arlington is hosting its 15th annual Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony to honor those who served in the Vietnam War.

The event is organized by the Arlington Great Southwest Rotary Club and Veterans Park Foundation, also co-sponsoring is The Heroes of South Vietnam Memorial Foundation.

Staff Sgt. Gene Pugh, a former member of a U.S. Army secretive Vietnam War unit, is the keynote speaker at this year’s event. The veterans event is at 11 a.m. Friday at the Arlington Veterans Memorial at Veterans Park, 3600 W. Arkansas Lane.

Grand Prairie Veterans Day Celebration

Grand Prairie is hosting its Veterans Day Celebration at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

Lunch will be provided by the Rotary Clubs of Grand Prairie in the Veterans Park Event Center right after the service. The celebration will also be live-streamed on the Grand Prairie Parks Facebook page.

North Richland Hills Veterans Day Events

North Richland Hills is hosting a Veterans Wall and celebration this week at city hall.

The Veterans Wall of Honor display is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. now through Friday in the city hall lobby at 4301 City Point Drive. The display features flags recognizing all branches of the military, honoring those who have served or are currently serving.

North Richland Hills is also hosting its annual Veterans Day Celebration at 11 a.m. Friday at the city hall plaza, 4301 City Point Drive. Visitors can expect a wreath of honor, police and fire honor guard presenting the colors and patriotic readings.

©2022 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit star-telegram.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.