The annual Memorial Day parade, which I’ve attended for decades, begins along Central Avenue in Faribault.
UNDER OVERCAST SKIES sometimes spitting drizzle, and in 54-degree temps, folks gathered along Central Avenue in historic downtown Faribault this morning to honor veterans.
Perched under an umbrella held by my husband, Randy, I photographed the annual Memorial Day parade from my curbside lawn chair, wiping the occasional drops of rain from my camera lens.
The Color Guard leads the parade.
Kids scramble for candy.
Veterans ride in the parade.
As I focused on the marching veterans and musicians, the kids scrambling for candy, the American flags and more, I considered that my uncomfortableness in the morning chill was nothing, nothing at all, compared to what many of these vets endured.
Girl Scouts walk in the rain at the end of the parade.
And then, after the parade, when I skipped the Memorial Day Program at Faribault’s Central Park because the drizzle had turned to steady rain, I questioned that decision. Why couldn’t I sit for 30 minutes in the cold and rain and listen to these veterans?
When Randy (who had gone to the park) texted that I could hear the program on the local radio station, I tuned in to KDHL and listened to honored combat veteran Jerry Anderson, who served in Vietnam. Anderson didn’t speak of his Vietnam experiences. Rather he reminisced about coming home from Vietnam to unappreciative and protesting Americans and the shame he and other vets felt.
But years later, in 1986, he helped to organize a group of nearly 50 Vietnam veterans to march in Faribault’s Heritage Days parade. He recalled the “thank yous,” the clapping, the signs, the tears…
That parade, he said, “helped end the years of shame and bitterness once and for all.”
Faribault native and Honorary Grand Marshal Bob Sommers and his wife, Raquel.
Then, just as my friend, Bob Sommers, honorary grand marshal who served two tours of duty in Iraq, was about to speak, the radio station’s line to the Memorial Day Program cut out.
A vet on a motorized scooter tosses candy to the kids.
So I returned to my computer, to selecting and editing photos and writing these words, asking you, today, to please remember those who have served, and to thank them.
BONUS PARADE PHOTOS:
Bands from Bethlehem Academy, shown here, and Faribault High School performed.
This vintage car exited the parade route after about two blocks. My husband automotive machinist diagnosed a blown head gasket.
Horses on parade through our historic downtown.
The Cub Scouts always follow to scoop up the horse poop.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Thank you so much for reminding us all of the true meaning for this day! I usually attend the reading of the list of names of fallen and ‘passed’ military in our little town but other tasks to precedent this year. The drizzle has finally subsided here but chilly/overcast remains….sigh. Hugs and, again, a quiet “thank you”………..
You are welcome, Doreen. I have such deep memories of Memorial Day programs in my hometown, of reading “In Flanders Fields,” of placing poppies on a wreath, of taps sounding…
I never fail to tear up when I hear, or read, “In Flanders Fields”!!!!!! And taps just finishes me!!!!!!
That’s precisely what happens to me upon hearing both.
Thanks for sharing! I am so grateful for the men and women who serve this country and protect it from harm. The boy scouts and girls serve the community too.
Grateful summarizes my feelings, too, toward those who serve.
A good reminder for us all, to remember the men and women who served and still serve our country to keep us safe. It’s very humbling to see the photos of the vets, God bless them all!
Absolutely. God bless them all.
Great photos!!! A great way to spend Memorial Day . I at least had a hot dog to celebrate but that was about it! I think we just don’t give our veterans enough credit—that is why I always thank a service man or woman when I see them. It is a gift that they give us, isn’t it?
Thanks, Beth Ann.
I love small-town parades. I cannot wait to be on Orcas for the 4th of July parade this year!
And I expect to see photos from that parade.
OH, for sure!
There are some very nice pictures you caught from the parade. Thanks for all of the work you do.
You are welcome, Bob. Always happy to shoot this event as one small way I can honor veterans like you. Typically these pix would have been even more varied. But the light mist that was falling kept me in my lawn chair (most of the time) rather than moving around for various angles on shots.