COLUMBUS, Ohio – The City of Columbus will its hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony and parade Friday.
The Columbus Veterans Day Parade is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s biggest parades by the Department of Defense and is traditionally held on the Friday before the official observance of the holiday, on Nov. 11.
The parade, sponsored by the Military/Veterans Education Foundation, steps off from Nationwide Boulevard and Front Street at noon and will travel down Nationwide, N. High Street and W. Broad Street to Veterans Memorial. Motorists and cyclists should plan for some delays downtown from about noon to 1:15 p.m.
Warren Motts, director of Motts Military Museum, will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Santa Claus will make an appearance and U.S. Marines from Lima Company will be collecting donations for Toys for Tots along the parade route.
The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in Columbus added 20 more members to its ranks Thursday, raising the total number in the hall to 478.
The hall isn’t based on military accomplishments. It honors Ohio veterans for outstanding service to their communities after leaving the military. Six World War II veterans, including one honored posthumously, and one Korean War veteran were among the inductees.
Hall of Fame charter members include the six Ohio military veterans elected U.S. president and all Medal of Honor recipients from Ohio.
Honorees have included astronauts, and business and community leaders, among others.