Veterans Freedom Parade
Originally published Nov. 12, 2025, on KACU 89.5 FM, Abilene’s NPR Station.
Last Saturday, the Abilene Freedom Foundation honored active military and veterans during the Veterans Freedom Parade in downtown Abilene.
President Woodrow Wilson established Armistice Day in 1919 to mark the end of World War I and honor its veterans. In 1926, Congress made November 11th a legal holiday to honor veterans of World War I and to dedicate to world peace.
Following World War II, President Dwight D. Eisenhower expanded the holiday to honor American veterans of all wars and changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day.
Today, America honors Veterans with parades featuring floats, service members, and marching bands playing patriotic music, wreath-laying ceremonies at veterans’ cemeteries, and school assemblies. Government offices close, and many businesses offer free meals or other services to veterans on the holiday.
While Veterans Day is officially on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, many communities, including Abilene, hold their observances the weekend before.
Last year, the Abilene Freedom Foundation took charge of the city’s Veterans Day observance, establishing the Veterans Freedom Parade. The celebration includes a car show, and sponsorships help to pay for cash prizes given to parade and car show winners. Proceeds also benefit veterans’ charities, and the program “Airmen Home for the Holidays”.
Steve Rogers attended this year’s parade to watch his grandson march.
Rogers said, “My dad served in World War II in the Army, and he was in the Philippines. And he was there from 42 to 45 when the war ended. Our grandson marched with the Abilene High junior ROTC; in fact, he was the commander, so yeah, I believe there is plenty of respect there.”
Military enlistment has declined in the U.S. for years, but officials report a notable turnaround in 2024. Still, U.S. officials describe the potential pool of recruits as “disinterested”.
Respect for those who have served is strong. Surveys done by the Pew Research Center in 2024 suggest that 81% of Vietnam-era veterans, and 46% of all Korean War and World War II-era veterans, feel more respected today than when they served in the military.
James King says respect for active military and veterans is much better today than at any time in our history.
King said, “I think it’s just the attitude, and people have come to realize without it, without the military, that you don’t exist … Those men and women, they’re not drafted, they choose to go into it now to serve our country, our nation.”
One of the men who chose to serve America is Lee Drummond. The Vietnam draft ended in 1973. Drummond joined the Army in 1974 and served until 1984. Drummond said this year he decided to honor fellow veterans by watching the parade from the side.
Drummond said, “In Special Forces, we had a motto of silent professionalism, and we didn’t want to be in the limelight. We didn’t want to be recognized, we didn’t want to be on TV, we just want to do our job.”
Drummond was the Acting Team Sergeant for a U.S. Army Special Forces team in Afghanistan. He says his squad saw a lot of combat action. They were the first unit since Vietnam that used long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bombers, called B-52s.
Drummond said, “I saw a video of the funeral at Fort Bragg, and I recognized some guys that I knew as young E-5 sergeants here in the lower enlisted, that were still in special forces, that were at the funeral, and they were now sergeant majors and they were senior NCOs. And that was a pretty good feeling. I don’t come to these events often, but I recognized my brethren I left behind and the ones that we had to take to their hometowns for burial details. We escorted the bodies to their home, to their very own hometowns, and assisted with their final arrangements.”
Drummond left the service with disabilities and some medical injuries. He came back to Abilene to work for the post office and retired in 2013.
For veterans with physical or other limitations, technology gives them the chance to take part in ceremonies, observances, and parades virtually, whether in their own communities or live-streamed events at Arlington Cemetery or other locations.
Veterans Day gives Americans the opportunity to show gratitude and honor to those who signed up or answered the call to serve, and it gives the nation’s veterans a day to pause, remember, and reflect on their own service.
