Shippensburg residents lined King Street on Sunday to watch Shippensburg’s annual Veterans Day parade, which featured Shippensburg University ROTC cadets.
The Shippensburg Area Veterans Council hosts the parade annually, and as tradition, the parade began at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The parade was made up of groups of community members including veterans, marching bands, SU students, law enforcement officials and dedicated local patriots.
King Street’s sidewalks were covered in American flag-clad citizens of all ages, most of who cheered vivaciously for parading members of the U.S. armed forces.
Residents attended the parade for various reasons, whether to pay homage to those who served or to support those in the parade. Ken and Cheryl Scott, who have attended the event for more than 20 years, come to watch their children perform in the parade.
Local resident Joyce Stayver attends the parade every year strictly to show her respects to veterans.
“I come here because it is important,” Stayver said. “Everyone should show that they care about our veterans.”
Shippensburg residents were not the only ones attending the event to pay their respects. Such is the case for SU ROTC members.
“We do the march every year to honor the memory of those who gave their time, health and lives for the creation and preservation of this nation,” SU ROTC cadet Mark Tressler said.
Tressler, who has been preparing for the parade with other cadets, said the annual parade is an important part of the ROTC’s culture, and is loved by SU cadets.
“It gets them thinking about those people that dedicated themselves to this country,” Tressler said.
U.S. Veterans Magazine recognized SU in 2013 as one of the most veteran-friendly universities in the country. SU students’ participation in the parade remains a testament to the university’s positive relationship with veterans, according to U.S. Veterans Magazine.
The parade began at the intersection of Prince and King streets, and continued past Fayette Street where it ended at approximately 2:40 p.m.
Despite the parade’s popularity among community members, Shippensburg’s annual Veterans Day parade is in jeopardy of becoming nonexistent due to waning numbers of volunteers, according to The Sentinel.
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