A first-ever Veterans Day parade with color guards, motorcycles, and vintage military vehicles, and a Veterans Day program with patriotic music, speeches, memorial wreaths, and rifle salute will highlight the 25th Annual Johnson County Veterans Day Observance in downtown Olathe on Friday, November 11.
The ceremony, sponsored by Johnson County Government in partnership with the City of Olathe, salutes all veterans, past and present.
The public event will honor the 7-158th Aviation Regiment at the New Century AirCenter near Gardner. The unit lost three soldiers – Specialist Spencer Duncan, a 2008 Olathe South High School graduate; Specialist Alexander Bennett, Overland Park; and Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, Kansas City – on August 6 when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 23 Americans and seven Afghanistan servicemen.
The parade will start at approximately 10 a.m. near the corner of Kansas Avenue and Chestnut Street, traveling south on Kansas Avenue, turning east on Dennis Avenue, and ending at Veterans Memorial Park located at the corner of Dennis Avenue and Harrison Street for the Veterans Day program.
The program begins at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Park. Featured speakers include:
* Craig Wehr, rear detachment first sergeant for the 7-158th Aviation Regiment and a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom;
* Megan Duncan, Olathe, mother of Specialist Spencer Duncan; and,
* Congressman Kevin Yoder, representing the Third District of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.
* Ed Eilert, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, will emcee the program.
The 2011 Veterans Day program features:
* Patriotic music by band students from Olathe North High School;
* Special songs by Kristin and Melissa Gaddis of Olathe;
* Special dancing by the Kansas City Bettys, who perform an Andrew Sisters routine to the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy;
* Presentation of colors by the Sheriff’s Color Guard and colors of support by local veteran organizations;
* Rifle salute, bagpiper, and playing of “Echo Taps;”
* Placement of memorial wreaths by members of local veterans organizations; and,
* Dedication of memorial bench in honor of Specialist Spencer Duncan.
Parking will be restricted on Kansas Avenue from downtown Olathe to Dennis Avenue before and during the parade to accommodate parade watchers along the route. Crossing streets at Kansas Avenue will be closed as the parade approaches and reopened after the end of the parade.
Parking is encouraged at the Dennis Avenue Shops, Chestnut Street and Dennis Avenue, and walking to Kansas Avenue to view the parade.
Additional parking will be available at the Earl Collier American Legion Post 153, 410 East Dennis Avenue.
The offices of Johnson County Government and Olathe City Hall will be closed Friday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day.
More information about the parade and program is available by visiting the Johnson County website at www.jocogov.org or by contacting Gerald Hay, public information officer for the Johnson County Manager’s Office, at (913) 715-0736 or gerald.hay@jocogov.org.
The ceremony, sponsored by Johnson County Government in partnership with the City of Olathe, salutes all veterans, past and present.
The public event will honor the 7-158th Aviation Regiment at the New Century AirCenter near Gardner. The unit lost three soldiers – Specialist Spencer Duncan, a 2008 Olathe South High School graduate; Specialist Alexander Bennett, Overland Park; and Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, Kansas City – on August 6 when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 23 Americans and seven Afghanistan servicemen.
The parade will start at approximately 10 a.m. near the corner of Kansas Avenue and Chestnut Street, traveling south on Kansas Avenue, turning east on Dennis Avenue, and ending at Veterans Memorial Park located at the corner of Dennis Avenue and Harrison Street for the Veterans Day program.
The program begins at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Park. Featured speakers include:
* Craig Wehr, rear detachment first sergeant for the 7-158th Aviation Regiment and a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom;
* Megan Duncan, Olathe, mother of Specialist Spencer Duncan; and,
* Congressman Kevin Yoder, representing the Third District of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.
* Ed Eilert, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, will emcee the program.
The 2011 Veterans Day program features:
* Patriotic music by band students from Olathe North High School;
* Special songs by Kristin and Melissa Gaddis of Olathe;
* Special dancing by the Kansas City Bettys, who perform an Andrew Sisters routine to the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy;
* Presentation of colors by the Sheriff’s Color Guard and colors of support by local veteran organizations;
* Rifle salute, bagpiper, and playing of “Echo Taps;”
* Placement of memorial wreaths by members of local veterans organizations; and,
* Dedication of memorial bench in honor of Specialist Spencer Duncan.
Parking will be restricted on Kansas Avenue from downtown Olathe to Dennis Avenue before and during the parade to accommodate parade watchers along the route. Crossing streets at Kansas Avenue will be closed as the parade approaches and reopened after the end of the parade.
Parking is encouraged at the Dennis Avenue Shops, Chestnut Street and Dennis Avenue, and walking to Kansas Avenue to view the parade.
Additional parking will be available at the Earl Collier American Legion Post 153, 410 East Dennis Avenue.
The offices of Johnson County Government and Olathe City Hall will be closed Friday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day.
More information about the parade and program is available by visiting the Johnson County website at www.jocogov.org or by contacting Gerald Hay, public information officer for the Johnson County Manager’s Office, at (913) 715-0736 or gerald.hay@jocogov.org.
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