Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 10

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Long Beach will celebrate Veterans Day 2012 with the annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 10.

Themed, "A Salute to Those Who Served," this marks the sixteenth year for the event honoring men and women who have served in all branches of the United States military. This year's parade will step off from the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Harding Street, proceed south on Atlantic to 56th. Street, make a U-turn and return to the step-off point. The activity begins at 10:00 a. m.

Chief Warrant Officer IV, Thomas M. Murphy has been named Grand Marshal for this year's parade. Murphy is a native of Southern California and graduated from Lakewood High School in 1967. His military career includes service in the U. S. Army, the Army National Guard and the California Military Reserve. Murphy served in Viet Nam and Iraq, flying helicopters. After retirement from active duty, Murphy held various posts in the Long Beach Unified School District and retired as an assistant principal of Wilson High School.

During the 1940's the United States Armed Forces were strictly segregated; African-American men who enlisted were sent to separate training bases, away from their those of other races. One of those separate facilities was known as Montford Point Marine Training Center where inductees underwent the same training as their peers at nearby Camp Le Juene, North Carolina. Three graduates of the Montford Point Facility have been chosen as Honorary Grand Marshals of the Long Beach Veterans Day Parade this year.

Honorary Grand Marshal Mitchell T. Key graduated from Montford Point in 1945 and served as a Marksmanship Instructor In Korea and Vietnam.

Also named as an Honorary Grand Marshal, William "Jack" Hammond served in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. He was a Marksmanship Instructor and Drill Sergeant at Marine Recruit Depot, San Diego. He was named Drill Instructor of the Year in 1958. Born in Philadelphia, PA, Honorary Grand Marshal Robert Stanley Hammond enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. He served during WWII as a hospital corpsman. At the age of 17, Honorary Grand Marshal Rudy Rios enlisted in the United States Army. He has held numerous leadership roles, currently holding the rank of First Sergeant. He also is a Long Beach police officer. Rios was called to active duty and served as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Security Team in Washington, D.C. He has recently returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.

The public is invited to attend the parade honoring our veterans with a "Salute to Those Who Served." For more information, log onto the website at www.lbveteransdayparade.com