This weekend, the downtown area surrounding Smothers Park will be figuratively painted red, white and blue from early Saturday morning until late into the evening Sunday.
The Kentucky Remembers 5K will kick off the weekend with an opening ceremony at the Charles E. Shelton Memorial before participants embark on a 5K run or walk through downtown with flags in tow. After the run, participants are invited back to VFW Post 696 for breakfast.
The highlight of the day is the Owensboro-Daviess County Veterans Day Parade at 2 p.m., which is believed to be one of the longest-running Veterans Day Parades in the nation.
This will be the 100th year for the Owensboro parade, according to parade coordinator, Lou Drawdy, a retired Master Sergeant with the United States Marine Corps. Drawdy said the parade has run every year since the end of World War I, with the exception of a “break” in 1986.
In 1987, Drawdy came together with a new group of veterans and individuals to ensure the parade continued on.
“I keep it going because I believe in what we’re doing,” Drawdy said.
Each year, veterans ride on their “floats,” which are often composed of antique cars or truck beds, as the parade winds along its path downtown from Second Street to Daviess, to Veterans Boulevard, where Drawdy said “some veteran units like to do an eyes right to the Shelton Memorial,” before ending at Frederica Street.
This year Drawdy anticipates 50 to 60 units from separate organizations including over 40 motorcycles. Spectators can also expect to see members of the Kentucky National Guard, local high school bands, as well as local boy scout and girl scout troops.
Drawdy said, after the parade, the public is invited to Amvets Post 75, Amvets Post 119, American Legion Post 7 and VFW 696 for the opportunity to “be around and talk with veterans.”
This will be the first year VFW Post 696 Commander, and retired U.S. Navy Crew Chief, Steven Rogers, has an opportunity to experience the Owensboro parade.
Rogers is most looking forward to welcoming special guest, 100-year-old World War II Army veteran, J.T. O’Bryan to join him in the parade. O’Bryan was recently featured by many local news outlets for receiving nearly 2,000 birthday cards for his 100th birthday and appearing on the Today Show Smucker’s jar for the reaching the milestone.
“The public needs to be aware of the veterans,” Rogers said. “Sometimes they’re out of sight out of mind, especially the older ones. The Veterans Day Parade brings it back into focus, so the public doesn’t forget about the veterans and forget about what they sacrificed for.”
In recent years, the colder weather and lower attendance numbers have caused Owensboro residents to question whether or not the parade would soon be coming to an end.
“I don’t see it in the foreseeable future,” Drawdy said. “ It will change over the years to meet the times and needs of the veterans and the community, [but] there’s always going to be people to keep it going.”
The culminating event for the weekend will be the first inaugural Kentucky Remembers Military Ball, a black-tie affair at the RiverPark Center with guest emcee Kirk Kirkpatrick.
For more information about the weekend’s activities click here.
