Warsaw sets date for parade
By Catharin Shepard
Published in News on October 22, 2010 1:46 PM
WARSAW -- The small Duplin County town of Warsaw will welcome thousands of guests Nov. 6 to its 90th annual Veterans Day celebration, the oldest in the country.
Warsaw has been celebrating Veterans Day since long before the day was even a federally recognized holiday. The idea of a day honoring veterans gained prominence after President Dwight D. Eisenhower formed the Veterans Day National Committee in 1954 to plan and promote the observance of Veterans Day nationally and regionally.
The town this year received special recognition for its dedication to honoring America's veterans. The federal Veterans Day National Committee of the Department of Veterans Affairs named Warsaw a Veterans Day Regional Site for 2010.
Veterans Day Regional Sites receive special prominence and recognition from state and national officials.
The department chooses select observances throughout the country that represent fitting tributes to veterans, based on a community's previous celebrations. The regional sites are intended to serve as examples for other communities seeking to host their own observances, according to the program web site. About 50 communities in the nation were named regional sites this year.
Warsaw will host military liaison officers, one for each branch of the military, from the Department of Defense to coordinate local military ceremonial support for the annual celebration.
The Warsaw Veterans Day celebration will be held Saturday, Nov. 6, starting at 8:30 a.m. The sidewalk sale for vendors begins at 9 a.m., with memorial services held at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park. The parade begins at 11 a.m. with a demonstration by the armed forces. A barbecue lunch is held at noon at the Warsaw Fire Department and American Legion Post. The LP Best House/Duplin County Veterans Museum will be open from 1-4 p.m.
For more information, contact the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce at 910-293-7804.
Fayetteville, Charlotte and Morehead City were also named Regional Veterans Day sites for 2010. Veterans Day is Nov. 11.