Float will be Part of Annual VA Veterans Day Parade on Tuesday, Nov. 11
MEDIA NOTE: Opportunities for video/photos, sound and interviews available on Saturday, October 25 and November 1, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
PHOENIX - To honor those who are or have served in the U.S.. military, several employees of the Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS) will be gluing, hammering, stapling and making flowers as they build a float for the Annual VA Veterans Day Parade.
VA Float decorating begins Saturday, October 25 and Saturday November 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., on the northeast corner of the VA Medical Center campus, accessible from Seventh Street, just north of Indian School Road close to Montecito.
The float will be part of the PVAHCS's Annual VA Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11.
"We have a lot of work to do to prepare the float for the parade," says Paula Pedene, PVAHCS Public Affairs Officer and parade coordinator. "We'll be looking at the plans, hammering, nailing and gluing items in place. We're honored to do this each year for our veterans."
The PVAHCS float will reflect the parade theme of "Serving With Honor," and will salute all those who have served in wars, other conflicts and peacetime since World War I. The float will feature the message, "From WWI to Now," and will reflect the VA's history of caring for veterans for nearly 80 years. It also will depict medical corps workers and a field of red poppies. Ocean waves on the side of the float will symbolize the massive transport of U.S. military personnel across the Atlantic to join the fight in WWI.
In addition, making its debut this year is a 45-foot tall balloon that depicts a member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War I, which ended exactly 90 years ago on November 11.
One of the largest such events in the nation, the VA Veterans Day parade will feature approximately 100 entries, including historic military vehicles; Veterans Service Organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and others; marching units, color guards; canine and equestrian units; floats; giant helium balloons, and bands.
The parade also pays a special tribute to those who have served or are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Four local OEF-OIF veterans will serve as Grand Marshals of the parade.
This is the 12th year that the Phoenix VA Health Care System has coordinated the VA Veterans Day Parade, which is supported by the City of Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department and the Veterans Medical Leadership Council.
For more information, contact the VA Veterans Day Parade Coordinator and Public Affairs Officer for the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Paula Pedene, APR, at paula.pedene@va.gov.
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