Baltimore City Honors Veterans
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1614″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500490479878{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500489387332{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]By Staff Sgt. Michael E. Davis Jr., Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1500489206541{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]Cheers, music, and military cadences filled the streets of Baltimore from the south end of Mt. Vernon Place to the War Memorial Plaza as part of the city’s annual Veterans Day March, Nov. 11, 2014.
The march and ceremony was held to celebrate current veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of America. “Honor a veteran, heal a nation,” was the theme of this year’s Veterans Day Parade.
The Maryland Freestate ChalleNGe Academy, local high school students, veteran organizations, junior ROTC members, and other organizations participated in the event. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore City mayor, Brig. Gen. Linda L. Singh, commander of the Maryland Army National Guard, and other dignitaries led the march and spoke during
the ceremony.
“It is so important that we take time on this day to say a simple thank you to our veterans,” Rawlings-Blake said.
Hundreds of supporters stood on the sidelines and expressed their thanks and gratitude for those who raised their right hand to protect our nation.
“We know that no great nation exists without a great a military,” Rawlings-Blake said. “So in order for our country to have made it this far and to have a great country for the future, we have to have veterans. We have to have people who are willing to say ‘sign me up, to say I am willing to serve’”
Serving this nation for 33 years, Singh expressed her connection to previous and current veterans.
“When I think about what it means for me to wear this uniform, I know what it means to [them] to have worn the uniform and to wear the uniform,” Singh said. “We are here to make sure that you have a free nation, so we can stand as one.”
The Veterans Day Parade concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony to honor the fallen but not forgotten Service members.
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