Hundreds of Durango-area residents gathered Friday along Main Avenue for the annual Veterans Day Parade organized by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4031.
The American Legion, Al Kaly Shriners’ Tin Lizzies, the Durango Elks Lodge and other groups also mobilized for the event.
Veterans and their families lined sidewalks on Main Avenue ahead of the parade that started shortly after 11 a.m.
David Bachman, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War from 1973 to 1978 and the start of the Iran-Iraq War, was among those in attendance.
In one word, he described what Veterans Day means to him: “Freedom.”
“I was either going to get drafted or enlist,” he said. “I actually went and enlisted so I could choose what I wanted to do.”
Carl Swanson and his grandson Asa Kane attended and marched in the parade advocating for peace over warfare. Swanson carried a construction paper sign with “No More Wars” scribbled across it.
Kane said he marched with his grandfather, who is a Vietnam War combat veteran, to celebrate the holiday that recognizes the people who have done military service during wartime.
“We need to remind people that war is absolutely good for nothing,” Swanson said. “So that’s what we’re out here for, to prevent another war.”
Fellow marchers carried banners that read “Vets Against the Next War” and “We Support Our Troops.”
Other groups that drove or strode down Main Avenue on Friday included the American Legion Post 28, local Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts chapters, the Victorian group, the Knights of Columbus, Durango Fire Protection District, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and others.
The Color Guard, consisting of VFW and American Legion members and other area veterans, led the parade.
Durango High School Red Pride Marching Band filled the streets with music, announcing the parade’s passage as they went by.
Mike Benton, who organized VFW Post 4031’s Veterans Day Parade this year, said he was pleased with the turnout.
“You know, coming out of COVID it was kind of interesting,” he said. “Are we going to have a lot of people here? I know the Fourth of July did really well. I was pretty happy to see how many people were on the streets.”
He said Friday’s Veterans Day Parade was the first parade he’d ever organized, and he appreciated the experience. Being new to the Durango area, it thrust him into the community and helped him learn more about the city and its people.
“It was an interesting challenge. I got to meet a lot of people around town,” he said. “But it really helped make me proud of the Durango area, the way everybody stepped up.”
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