Wenatchee honors veterans with downtown parade and ceremony

WENATCHEE – Veterans rode through downtown in flag-decorated trucks, student musicians marched beneath the bright red plumes of their Eastmont uniforms and the purple-and-gold from Wenatchee, and families gathered at Memorial Park on Nov. 11 as Wenatchee marked Veterans Day with a parade and a pause to honor military service.

Organized by American Legion Post 10 with support from VFW Post 3617 and local community groups, Wednesday’s annual parade brought generations together along downtown streets. Color guards carried the American flag and military service flags, while veterans waved from a VFW float trimmed in red, white and blue.

The procession included motorcycles, military vehicles, classic pickups, scout troops and even a few horseback riders from the Appleatchee 4-H club. Small American flags decorated the now-familiar "Shore Patrol" Jeep, and passengers rode on wooden benches in the bed of an aging green truck bearing a Veterans Hall sign.

Above the intersection of Orondo and Chelan, a large American flag was suspended from the extended ladder of WVFD's firetruck. Along the route, spectators carried smaller flags of their own.

The parade began near the Wells Fargo Bank on Chelan Avenue and traveled to Memorial Park, where spectators gathered beneath trees still holding their yellow and orange leaves. There, veterans in navy blazers, white gloves and American Legion caps stood in formation with rifles for a ceremonial salute. The observance included the playing of “Taps.”

Among those gathered at the park, one man held his daughter Layla's handmade sign against his chest. An American flag and drawings of service members framed a simple message: “Thank you for your service!”

Following the ceremony, the procession continued along Orondo Avenue and Mission Street, carrying the flags, musicians and veterans back through downtown.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media