LUMBERTON — A traditional parade in Pembroke will be the highlight of events on Wednesday in Robeson County that honor our nation’s veterans.
The annual Veterans Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. and will travel from Pembroke Elementary School to Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Afterward,Col. Lynn Locklear will speak during a memorial ceremony at 11 a.m. in the Pembroke Town Park.
“This is one of the oldest Veterans Day parades that is held in North Carolina. We started this parade after World War II,” said Greg Cummings, Robeson County’s economic development coordinator and a parade organizer. “It is because of our veterans that we have the freedom that this country has today. We’d like to invite everyone out tomorrow to honor our veterans and to show our support to them and their family.”
Following the ceremony, a fish and chicken plate sale will be held from noon to 3 p.m. at the VFW building on Union Chapel Road. Plates can be purchased for $7. For information, call Temeara Huggins at 910-521-9758.
The origins of Veterans Day can be traced back to 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson announced that Nov. 11 would serve as the first federal observance of Armistice Day. The holiday’s focus was expanded in 1945 to salute all individuals who have served in the United States military.
There are 21.8 million veterans in America as of 2014, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. North Carolina is home to more than 736,000 of them.
Other events include:
• Scrubby’s Car Wash will offer free car washes to veterans and active duty military personnel from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of its Grace For Vets program. The business is located at 5030 Fayetteville Road in Lumberton.
• American Legion Post 117 will hold its seventh annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 10:45 a.m. at the corner of North Florence and West Graham streets in Maxton. The guest speaker will be Meredith Hubbard, a retired member of the U.S. Air Force who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. JROTC students from Purnell Swett High School will form a Color Guard during the ceremony.
• Veterans will be served coffee and donuts at 8 a.m. inside the Borderbelt Farmers Museum and Welcome Center at 101 Thompson St. in downtown Fairmont.
• Rowland will hold its annual Veterans Day celebration at 11 a.m. outside the train depot on Main Street.
• Disabled American Veterans Chapter 7 will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. behind the Robeson County Public Library. The library is located at 101 N. Chestnut St. in downtown Lumberton.
