Third annual Veterans Day Parade brings hundreds together to honor the nation’s heroes
A sign begins the parade. Photos by Brandy Muz
The minutemen march forward.
The Grinch showed his patriotism.
The VFW shows pride for the country.
Spreading music down Main Street, The McGann Marching Band marches on. 
The Wareham New Bedford Elks Lodge help thank those who served. 
Patriotism on full display.
Equestrians show pride for the Nation.
Former Grand Marshall Julio Roderick waves to the crowd.
The American Flag stands tall as the Wareham JROTC marches forward.
A banjo player brings folksy tunes to the parade.
A nautical way to celebrate the military from the Onset Bay Center.
Red, white and Bluey. 
Even the cars got into the patriotic spirit.
The Wareham Mites' Ryder Ahlgren shows off the teams recent Super Bowl win. 
The Wareham Fire Department brings support from tiny waves.
The bald eagle floats through the parade. 
Benjamin Baptise spreads thanks to the community.
Dressed to the nines in red, white and blue.
The poppy stands out.
The Wareham High School pep band plays throughout the parade.
Orange and black turns red, white and blue with the Wareham Tigers Cheer Athletics.
A sign begins the parade. Photos by Brandy Muz
The minutemen march forward.
The Grinch showed his patriotism.
The VFW shows pride for the country.
Spreading music down Main Street, The McGann Marching Band marches on.
The Wareham New Bedford Elks Lodge help thank those who served.
Patriotism on full display.
Equestrians show pride for the Nation.
Former Grand Marshall Julio Roderick waves to the crowd.
The American Flag stands tall as the Wareham JROTC marches forward.
A banjo player brings folksy tunes to the parade.
A nautical way to celebrate the military from the Onset Bay Center.
Red, white and Bluey.
Even the cars got into the patriotic spirit.
The Wareham Mites' Ryder Ahlgren shows off the teams recent Super Bowl win.
The Wareham Fire Department brings support from tiny waves.
The bald eagle floats through the parade.
Benjamin Baptise spreads thanks to the community.
Dressed to the nines in red, white and blue.
The poppy stands out.
The Wareham High School pep band plays throughout the parade.
Orange and black turns red, white and blue with the Wareham Tigers Cheer Athletics.
Red, white and blue poked through the coats of bundled up community members who gathered down Main Street for a parade to honor those who served the country.
The annual Veterans Day parade down Main Street held Tuesday, Nov. 11 brought hundreds downtown to watch performers, veterans and local organizations honor those that have served the country. Following the parade, a ceremony in Center Park featured several speeches.
One of the parade’s leaders was Marine Corps veteran and Wareham native Benjamin Baptise, who served in the second battalion in the fifth Marines starting in 1992. Following his military service, he built a career spanning over 25 years in the construction industry.
Baptise is the commander of the Dudley Brown VFW in Onset and gave thanks to those he said help veterans like Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside and former Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Stanton who runs the JROTC program at Wareham High School.
"I think now more than ever the community needs everybody — all hands on deck," Baptiste said. "If you haven't found your niche yet on how you can support your community, keep trying. There's all types of things that you can do to be of service to your community, if you haven't had any guidance you can come to the VFW."
State Senator Kelly Dooner spoke at the ceremony asking those who did not serve to honor veterans. Dooner's father served in the Air Force, something she said helped instill the obligation citizens have to those who laid their lives down for the United States.
"They are the reason that we get to go to school and they're the reason that we have the freedoms that we have today. So, I believe all of us, we have an obligation to make sure that we are always putting out veterans first and making sure they're taken care of first," she said.
Winner of the Patriots Pen Essay Winner Charlie Avila read her paper about how she shows patriotism. The Patriot's Pen is an annual, national essay contest for students in grades six through eight, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"Being patriotic is showing respect to your country by being there and helping people," she said during her speech.
The National Anthem was sung by Onset Bay Association President Kat Jones while the McGann Marching Band played various songs from branches of the military. With dozens gathered together in Center Park, Stanton said it was a special day in Wareham.
"I think the community takes a lot of pride in it's efforts to celebrate the veterans. There's great leadership from Judith Whiteside, who really makes us focus and get it done," he said. "It's a really first class event. We started off with the parade, we get the whole community out on Main Street and it was a great showing even though it was cold."
Stanton said the parade gathered 48 different entries ranging from marching bands to assisted livings. Some parade entrants even had veterans inside the vehicles in what Stanton said was a "fantastic opportunity," to include them in the celebration.
"Overall it was all just a great opportunity for the community to come together." he said.
