Veterans Day Parade (11/08/2014)

My friend, Art, who owns five pieces of military rolling stock (two Jeeps, two trailers, and an ambulance), invited me to join him and the Tri City Military Vehicle Club in the annual West Richland Veterans Day Parade. So Lou (IH's nickname) did. A friend from our small group wanted to come along as TC. He told me that TC stands for Tank Commander, or in this case Truck Commander. Steve drove a deuce-and-a-half in Germany in the late '60s and early '70s. Art told me that several veterans would be riding on Lou's back so I put the troop seats down and put a ladder in so they could climb comfortably up onto the truck bed. A man and his daughter, a man and his wife, and a woman did ride with me in the parade. I furnished ear plugs for those that wanted them but found out later that it isn't nearly as noisy in the back as it is in the cab.

Hanford High School Band

These are pictures I took while waiting in formation for the parade to start at 10:00 am. The first two are of the truck in front of me which has a better color and lots of numbers and other markings to give me ideas of what I should put on Lou sometime. Of course the last picture is of the Hanford marching band which was right behind us in the parade and the first band in the parade. We were actually the 7th or 8th vehicle in the parade.

Dan, our small group leader, took these next four pictures. They show his wife, Barb, as she approached us. We had eased to the left to greet her. She is showing her amazement of Lou's size in the 3rd picture. The 4th picture catches the veteran lady in the back of the truck.

These are the two pictures Barb took as she approached us. You can see the Jeep behind me and just a hint of the Hanford Band. You can see me and my TC Steve in the 2nd picture.

Art sent me the next picture.

Here I am in front of some of the military vehicles that were in the parade in Flat Top park after the parade is over.

And, finally here is a picture that was in today's Tri-City Herald. You can see part of me in the rear at the right. Art sent me this montage. He is driving the gray (Navy) Jeep. That and the enclosed Jeep is in the front of the parade. The Jeep with the passenger in the helmet was the last military vehicle in the parade and followed me.

After we left Flat Top Park I let Steve drive Lou for a while. He loved it and said it brought back old memories.