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After a decade long absence, The Veteran’s Day Parade returned to the streets of Louisville, Kentucky in 2011. Mayor Greg Fischer told the crowd that last year a Vietnam Veteran who attended the parade told him it was the first time he had ever felt the thanks of his fellow countrymen in all the years since the war ended. So it was no surprise that the city continued this event in 2012 with the help of some corporate sponsors.
The afternoon’s events were coordinated by Wayne Hettinger who is well known for putting together the Thunder Over Louisville Fireworks show. The afternoon kicked off with “The Kiss” a recreation of the 1945 V-J Day photograph that drew international attention when it appeared in Life Magazine. The Ladies of Liberty performed on stage - patriotic songs in a style made popular during the WWII era by The Andrews Sisters.
A C-130 flew overhead and the parade stepped off. Groups from many veterans associations and civic groups filled the parade while along the route there were soldiers from all of this countries wars accompanied by their families.
Military tanks, jeeps and trucks passed by making one wonder what it felt like in the countries of Europe when liberating forces entered their cities.
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