Tulsans will line the streets of downtown Monday to honor veterans who served and sacrificed for their country.
The parade is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Monday - the day after Veterans Day - at Third Street and Boston Avenue and wind through downtown.
Organizers say it's the 94th Veterans Day parade in Tulsa and one of the largest in the country.
U.S. Rep.-elect Jim Bridenstine will be the parade's grand marshal. Bridenstine is a lieutenant commander and pilot in the Navy Reserve. On Tuesday, Bridenstine won the race for the 1st Congressional District seat, which represents Tulsa.
Bridenstine flies the E-C2 Hawkeye surveillance and operations plane for the Navy Reserve and is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Others honored at the parade will be World War II veterans John Dale, James Alspaugh and James Carl, as well as Maj. Vicki Jones of the Army Air National Guard.
The parade will start at Third Street and Boston Avenue, head west then south on Boulder Avenue to Seventh Street. It will head east from there to Sixth Street after a short jaunt north on Boston Avenue before ending at Detroit Avenue and Sixth Street.
KTUL, channel 8, will televise the parade live.
Before the parade, veterans can enjoy a free breakfast at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 577, 1109 E. Sixth St. Breakfast will be offered from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the post. The American Legion Post 1, on Eighth Street west of Peoria Avenue, will serve a free lunch for veterans after the parade.
After a rainy Sunday, forecasters with the National Weather Service office in Tulsa are calling for a clear and sunny but cool Monday with temperatures in the upper 40s around the time the parade starts.
City, state and federal offices will be closed Monday to recognize the federal holiday.
Veterans Day coincides with Armistice Day, which marks the end of World War I in 1918. The day became a national holiday known as Armistice Day in 1938. The name of the holiday was changed in 1954 to Veterans Day to honor all of those who served.
Jerry Wofford 918-581-8310
jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com
