By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph residents will have an opportunity to honor those who have served our country this weekend as the annual Veteran's Day parade returns.
St. Joseph Veterans Committee Chairman Paul Gatewood says this year's parade will actually be held on Saturday, the day after Veteran's Day.
"We notice we have a low attendance if we do it during the week," Gatewood tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "So, this is the first year we're going to do it on a Saturday and see how it works out, we hope many people will come out and enjoy the parade."
While there are a lot of positives to holding the parade on Saturday, Gatewood says there is at least one negative and that's getting students to the parade
"If it's a school day they have transportation there, so there's pluses and minuses but we're going to see how it goes," Gatewood says. "We're going to see how Saturday works and if Saturday works really well, then I think we're going to have to go to Saturdays."
The parade will begin at 11am on Saturday, starting from Francis Street south of City Hall, and will do a loop west to 8th street, north to Jules, and then east on Frederick back to the start.
Gatewood says this year the committee has chosen three World War II veterans as Grand Marshalls for the parade.
"These are guys that fought in World War II, still alive, we have PFC Cletus Swihart at 96 years old, Clarence "Bud" Modlin at 97, and then Wilbur Claude Taylor at 102 years old," Gatewood says.
Gatewood says it's an honor to have these three men living and giving people a chance to honor them during the parade.
Following the parade, the Veterans Committee will also hold a resource fair, at the Fulkerson Center at Missouri Western State University from 1 to 4 pm.
Once leaving active service, many veterans may not know the resources available to help them.
Gatewood says Vet2Vet will take place at Missouri Western Saturday, helping to provide those resources.
"We bring resources together for veterans that maybe they didn't know they had that benefit or they want to increase a benefit," Gatewood explains. "It includes housing, employment, VA benefits, mental health, education, healthcare, every benefit we can get out there."