Parade And Ceremony Salutes New Bedford Veterans

Despite some brisk winds and persistent rain, the City of New Bedford on Wednesday offered its annual salute to veterans of all wars.

The city's Veterans Day Parade featured veterans groups, military equipment, Public Safety vehicles, and Scouting organizations. It also featured appearances by the New Bedford High School and Dartmouth High School Marching Bands.

In remarks at the conclusion of the parade, Mayor Jon Mitchell reminded residents that while men and women in the military continue to make major sacrifices, citizens can do their part too, by cleaning up their neighborhood, getting involved in civic activities and voting.

"There are kids from New Bedford who are on patrol in the mountains of Afghanistan, or on a cruiser in the middle of the Pacific, or elsewhere serving this country and that's what they expect of us. So lets do right by them and do a little bit extra," said the Mayor.

The Grand Marshall for this year's parade was 91 year old Calvin Siegal, a veteran of World War Two and the Battle of The Bulge, during which he was seriously wounded.

Siegal says today's troops are doing the job. "They certainly have a different mission than we had, they're on full-time, and I know we should appreciate the tremendous job they're doing for us."

Also honored during Wednesday's ceremony was outoing City Councilor David Alves. Members of the City Council presented Alves with a citation for the work he's done on behalf of veterans over the years. Alves, a Vietnam-era veteran, has hosted the Veterans Day event for years. Alves did not see re-election this fall.

New Bedford may have been the only community in the region to go ahead with their Veterans Day Parade. Others were cancelled because of rain.