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World War II Veterans will be Recognized in the Boone 4th of July Parade

By Tzar Wilkerson

The organizers of the Boone 4th of July parade have put out the call for World War II veterans in the community who would be willing to serve as the parade’s Grand Marshals this year. If you know a WWII veteran who might be interested, now is the time to reach out to them. The veterans will be honored at the forefront of the procession, where they will be seated in a separate vehicle.

The idea to use the parade to thank the veterans originated with Veronica Johnson. “My dad is a WWII vet, and two years ago I just decided that, with everything they went through and sacrificed for us, they just need to be honored and recognized,” said Johnson, “so I entered them in the Blowing Rock and the Boone Parade.”

Pilar Fotta, Boone’s Director of Cultural Resources, explained the importance of the veterans’ presence in the parade, “I’m very excited that they have agreed to be our Grand Marshals. They are an extraordinary group of men who served our country in ways that most of us can’t even imagine. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to honor them in a public way. We’ve actually lost two of the veterans that were in the parade last year, so I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to honor them and to let the public have a chance to thank them for all that they did.”