A San Jose Police Department Honor Guard member marches during the Veterans Day Parade in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group)
Every year since 1918, residents from across the Bay Area have gathered in San Jose for a Veterans Day parade billed as the largest anywhere in Northern California.
On Saturday, thousands turned out, waving American flags and honoring veterans marching in the parade, which stretched downtown from SAP Center to Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
Paradegoers were all smiles as they watched an array of military and civilian vehicles, from vintage cars to even a few tanks, make their way down Santa Clara Street.
“I love parades — this kind of music,” said Bill Habla, an 84-year-old Coast Guard veteran from Los Gatos, as the sound system pumped out one patriotic tune and after another. “You would hope that something like this would bridge all the political divides. It shows we can come together over patriotism and love of country. I don’t think anybody can argue over that.”
Throughout the Bay Area, residents observed Veteran’s Day with main street parades, community festivals, military exhibits and other events to honor those who’ve served their country.
In downtown Danville, several hundred people came to the local veteran’s memorial building for an open house showcasing student robotic demonstrations, Vietnam-era military equipment, including a Bell UH-1 “Huey” helicopter and a presentation from a Navy Top Gun pilot and NASA astronaut, one of the first to take part in the Space Shuttle program in the 1980s.
Wearing a blue NASA flight suit, James “Ox” van Hoften described his 338 hours in space, sharing with an audience of families and fellow veterans photos of astronauts’ shuttle sleeping pods and an orb of red cranberry juice floating in zero gravity.
“Food was a big game in orbit,” van Hoften said.
Matthew Fletcher, captain of the San Ramon Valley High School Robotics Team, showed off Sgt. Reckless, a roughly four-foot robot with a claw attached to a telescoping arm, designed to pick up traffic cones. The team designed and built the robot to enter competitions with other high schoolers from across the country.
“It’s been really good to honor veterans for the holiday, and also to educate the younger generation about what opportunities are available for them to get them interested in science and technology,” said Fletcher, 18.
At the San Jose Parade, Rich Peters, 77, and his wife Sue marveled over how much things have changed for veterans since he first returned from serving overseas. “Being a veteran, serving in Vietnam, we weren’t really welcomed home,” he said.
But pointing to his hat displaying his veteran status, Peters explained how people now stop and thank him for his service.
“It’s a 180-degree change from what it was,” he said.
