Veteran’s Parade organizers looking for World War II vets
Jun 6, 2014, 3:48 PM | Updated: 3:48 pm
PHOENIX — Calling all World War II veterans! The Phoenix Veteran’s Day Parade wants you!
The theme of the November 11 parade is “Duty, Honor, Sacrifice… celebrating our World War II veterans.”
Parade planners are looking for at least 100 World War II vets to ride in the parade.
“As we know, many of them are getting older,” said parade organizer Paula Pedene. “It’ll probably be their last ‘hoorah’ to be in the parade.”
Pedene remembers the 1997 parade, when there were lots of World War II vets who marched and rode.
“I remember seeing a sea of Pearl Harbor veterans,” Pedene said.. “We don’t have that today.”
“We lose about 1,000 World War II veterans every day,” Pedene said. “Now, we’re lucky if we get three Pearl Harbor veterans sitting in an entry in the parade.”
If you know of a World War II vet who might like to be in the parade, you can contact organizers at
honoringazvets@gmail.com. You can also contact Pedene by telephone at (480) 772-2934.