Philadelphia Holding First Ever Veterans Day Parade
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's history in the making this weekend just days ahead of Veterans Day on Wednesday. Philadelphia is holding its first parade to honor those veterans.
About 2,000 servicemen and women, their families and supporters are marching in the parade.
To kick it off, the all-veteran parachute team will float down from the sky, and land right in front of Independence Hall while the national anthem is playing hits its crescendo.
It's going to be an emotional day, especially for those behind the historic event.
In all its history, Philadelphia, in one way, has overlooked honoring those who fought to protect this freedom. The city has never had a parade like this.
On Sunday, that changes.
"This is a dream that I had that I never though could be happening," says Scott Brown -- director of the Veterans Advisory Commission.
He says service runs in the family:
"I'm a navy guy, son of a navy guy, grandson, great-grandson, five generations of navy."
For Brown -- this weekend's parade is a chance to recognize his blood and his bond with 87,000 veterans throughout Philadelphia. For Bob McMahon on the parade executive committee it's a chance to start a conversation:
"Most veterans just didn't talk about it. WWII didn't talk about it, Korea didn't talk about it, Vietnam didn't talk about it."
McMahon didn't talk about his time in Vietnam for decades. As a senior advisor in the army, he was awarded the bronze star for training and protecting people in three villages.
"It's important to be proud that you are a veteran, that you served in the United States military," McMahon says. "We always did our best to help the people where we were serving."
Together they worked with the city for about a year to make the parade a reality.
"Pull the permits, get the police together, get the cleanup together, get the set up together, get the street closures, that's a lot of work," explains Brown.
But as the parade marches through Philly -- from Broad and Walnut, around City Hall and along Market Street to Independence Mall -- McMahon and Brown hope you feel as they feel.
"I hope they come away with pride," McMahon says.
"Look up in the sky and say 'dad, this ones for you. And thanks for your service'," adds Brown.
The 1.5-mile parade begins at noon and is expected to last a couple of hours.
