I’ve witnessed how a simple parade can help heal wounds that medicine cannot reach. When thousands of strangers stand together, waving flags and cheering, they send a powerful message: You matter. Your service mattered. We haven’t forgotten.”
2026 Phoenix Veterans Day Parade
The 30th annual parade, themed 250 Years of Freedom, 30 Years of Honor and featuring marching bands, military units, floats, giant helium balloons and military hardware, is expected to draw more than 45,000 Arizonans to central Phoenix.
Where: A route change will take the parade north on Third Street from McDowell Road to School Road, near the entrance to Steele Indian School Park
Veteran grand marshals: Delmar DeWitt Beard (WWII), Melvin Mitchell Smith (Korean War), Palmer R. Miller III (Cold War), Charles Chuck Byers (Vietnam), Joe Worthy (Desert Storm), Priscilla Velazquez, and Steve Langen (Enduring Freedom)
Celebrity grand marshal: Super Bowl XX Chicago Bears champion quarterback Jim McMahon
Learn more: Visit honoringamericasveterans.org/2026-hav-veterans-day-parade-phoenix to download a parade map, find information on parking and street closures, read grand marshal biographies and winning student essays.
OPINION — Every Veterans Day, there is a moment that reminds me why I do this work.
It isn’t the marching bands, the magnificent floats or the thousands of spectators lining Phoenix streets. It’s the veteran who stands a little taller when someone applauds. It’s the tears in the eyes of someone who returned from war decades ago without ever hearing the words, “Thank you for your service.”
Those moments have kept me going for 30 years.
As a Navy veteran, I understand the pride of serving our country. As a former Department of Veterans Affairs employee and whistleblower, I also understand what happens when the institutions entrusted with caring for veterans fail them.
My journey hasn’t always been easy. Speaking up about wrongdoing at the Phoenix VA came at tremendous personal and professional cost. I lost my career, endured retaliation and watched my family suffer alongside me. But I never lost sight of the people we were supposed to serve.
That experience reinforced something I believe deeply: Veterans deserve more than our gratitude. They deserve our courage, our commitment and our willingness to stand beside them.
When we started the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade in 1997, I never imagined it would become one of the nation’s largest celebrations of military service. What began as a modest gathering has grown into an extraordinary community tradition, bringing together 45,000 spectators, thousands of participants and hundreds of volunteers.
Over the years, we’ve weathered financial challenges, organizational changes and even moments when the parade’s future was uncertain. There were times when continuing seemed nearly impossible. Yet every time, people stepped forward. Veterans organizations, businesses, civic leaders, volunteers and everyday citizens reminded us that this celebration belonged to the community.
That generosity and determination have taught me something important: Honoring veterans isn’t the responsibility of one organization or one person. It’s a promise we make together.
I think about Korean War veterans who returned home to indifference. Vietnam veterans who faced hostility instead of appreciation. Younger veterans carrying invisible wounds. Gold Star families whose sacrifices continue long after the headlines fade.
I think about the families standing along the parade route, pointing out the veterans to their children and explaining what those uniforms represent. I think about the young JROTC cadets marching alongside veterans whose service began generations before they were born. Those connections are how we pass along the meaning of service, sacrifice and freedom.
I’ve witnessed how a simple parade can help heal wounds that medicine cannot reach. When thousands of strangers stand together, waving flags and cheering, they send a powerful message: You matter. Your service mattered. We haven’t forgotten.
That’s why I continue this work.
The parade is more than a celebration. It’s a living history lesson, a community gathering and, for some veterans, a moment of healing. It reminds us that behind every uniform is a human being with a story worth telling.
This year, as America celebrates 250 years of freedom and our parade marks 30 years of honor, I’m reminded that freedom is neither free nor guaranteed. It has been protected by generations of Americans willing to sacrifice for something greater than themselves.
Our responsibility is to ensure their stories endure.
On Nov. 11, when our parade travels north along Third Street in central Phoenix, I hope you’ll join us. Bring your children. Wave your flags. Thank a veteran. And remember that the appreciation we express on Veterans Day should extend throughout the year.
Because sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone who served is simply letting them know their sacrifice was worth it.
And after 30 years, that’s still worth everything to me.
U.S. Navy veteran Paula Pedene is executive director and founder of Honoring America’s Veterans, and the author of “A Sacred Duty: How a Whistleblower Took on the VA and Won.” Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to azopinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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