The Aurora community will salute heroes on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, who bravely served our country and returned home to continue serving in many ways throughout the community.
With the theme, Honoring the Heroes Among Us, the 2024 Aurora Veterans Day Parade will begin at 10:15 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11, immediately followed by the Veterans Day Ceremony with keynote speaker Jessica Lynch, in front of the GAR Memorial, 23 E. Downer Place.
The parade, which will step off at Benton and Water Street, travel north to Downer Place, and then west on Downer Place, will feature a variety of units, including veterans’ organizations, public safety units, community organizations, and youth groups. The parade will conclude at the GAR Memorial Hall, 23 E. Downer Place, where veterans, parade participants, and guests will convene for a tribute ceremony.
The Veterans Day Ceremony will have a military salute on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to commemorate the armistice agreement that ended World War 1, a roll-call of military branches, a presentation of awards of meritorious service to Aurora veterans, and special remarks from keynote speaker Jessica Lynch.
Lynch is a former United States Army Private First Class and a former prisoner of war. March 23, 2003, she was serving as a unit supply specialist with the 507th Maintenance Company when her convoy was ambushed by Iraqi troops. Lynch was seriously injured during the attack and taken prisoner by Iraqi soldiers. Ten U.S. soldiers were killed in the ambush. Seven other soldiers were captured and six subsequently rescued 21 days later. One of the seven, Lynch’s best friend and battle buddy, PFC Lori Piestewa, received a serious head wound and later died in an Iraqi civilian hospital. Lynch’s subsequent recovery by U.S. Special Operations Forces April 1, 2003, was the first successful rescue of an American prisoner of war since World War II and the first ever of a woman. July 22, 2003, Lynch was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Prisoner of War Medal.
—City of Aurora government