• By JJ Velasquez - jvelasquez@vicad.com
• Originally published November 7, 2009 at 10:06 p.m., updated November 8, 2009 at 12:25 a.m.

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• VICTORIA VETERANS DAY PARADE

  When: The parade begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

  Where: It starts at the corner of Ben Jordan and North St. and ends at the parking lot of the Victoria Community Center.

  Feature speaker: The ceremony will ...

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VICTORIA VETERANS DAY PARADE

When: The parade begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Where: It starts at the corner of Ben Jordan and North St. and ends at the parking lot of the Victoria Community Center.

Feature speaker: The ceremony will feature a speech by state Sen. Glenn Hegar.

National anthem: The Toast of the Coast Barber Shop Chorus will sing the national anthem.

Master of ceremonies: Gary Moses.

Parade organizer Peter Riesz recommends that people bring lawn chairs to observe the parade.

The event is organized by the Victoria County Veteran's Council.

PORT LAVACA - You could hear the pop-pop-pop of firecrackers and the revving of motorcycles that ambled down the streets of Port Lavaca for the fourth annual Veterans Parade.

The Saturday event carried more weight in light of the mass shooting at Fort Hood, those attending said.

Neil Fritsch, chairman of the parade, made a last-minute adjustment to his parade entry to honor those who died at the Central Texas military base.

"I'm sure it was on everyone's mind," Fritsch said about the tragedy. "We had a different theme for ours, but we saw the need to go ahead and honor those at Fort Hood."

Before 2006, the Calhoun County community did not have an outlet like the parade to honor its veterans, he said.

Service organization leaders in Port Lavaca sought to create that outlet four years ago.

"Here we are four years later, and it just gets bigger and bigger every year," Fritsch said. "It's a way of bringing the community together to honor those who help protect our freedoms."

Port Lavaca resident Peggy Janecka said military tanks added a flair to this year's parade that especially impressed her grandson, who looked on grasping a miniature American flag.

"My grandson normally wouldn't get to see stuff like that," said Janecka, who added that she and her family have been to the veteran's parade in Port Lavaca every year. "So that encourages supporting the troops a little more."

The Veterans Day celebration drew members of the Port Lavaca Noonday Lions Club. Donna Davis said the club might enter a float in next year's parade, especially with the event growing in popularity year to year.

"This is one of the holidays that we really celebrate," Davis said. "We're just proud to be here and proud to be an American. We pray for our troops overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"And wherever they are - even at home now," Becky Robles added, explaining that the events in Fort Hood make this Veterans Day even more important.

"It really comes down to the fact that we can do this because of our troops," Philip Thomae said.

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