Reporter
The 95th annual Veterans Day parade honored veterans from all branches in downtown Bakersfield on Wednesday morning. The parade began at 10 a.m at L Street and 21st Street and ended between 20th Street and M Street.
“I am a veteran and I’m proud of it,” said Arnold Moreno, an Army Veteran who attends the parade every year along with his family.
Before the parade starts Moreno enjoys breakfast at Tina Marie’s Café and then stations himself in his favorite spot in front of the restaurant at 20th and Chester Street. Moreno stood through the entire parade honoring and saluting other veterans.
Organizations like Wounded Heroes of Kern County, The Kern County Museum, Bakersfield Young Marines, Honor Flight of Kern County, Camp Valor and many more participated in the parade. Schools from all grade levels also attented such as Stonecreek Junior High School, Frontier High School and Bakersfield College. Local government officials like Mayor Harvey Hall, U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Assemblywoman Shannon Grove and Assemblyman Rudy Salas were also there.
“I like coming because of the spread of ages of veterans that show up,” said Ray Hutchison, who is an Army veteran that served during the Vietnam War from 1972-’75.
Hutchison started coming to the parade four years ago. He served in the Vietnam Era from 1945-85 but was not able to make it to the Vietnam War because of being in the Cold War service in Germany. So according to him, he falls in the gray area of people who served but did not.
“I didn’t like what I was doing but I took it seriously because I owed it to everyone else who came before me,” said Hutchison who was part of nuclear security in the military police when he served.
Army veteran Lawrence Garcia, who served from 1973-’75 during the Vietnam War in the support Company, said that it was very nice.
“Sometimes they fall behind and there will be gaps, but they were very good this year,” he said.
Garcia, who left with an honorable discharge, attends the Veterans Day Parade every year. This year he was also there to see his daughter who was participating in the parade through South High School’s U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC).
