Patriotism on full display for 105th New York City Veterans Day Parade

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- To help honor and celebrate our country's heroes, WABC-TV is proud to air the biggest Veterans Day event in the United States, the annual New York City Veterans Day Parade.

WABC-TV anchor David Novarro and ABC News' Stephanie Ramos hosted with WABC-TV reporter Lucy Yang along the parade route on Fifth Avenue.

The city became a sea of red, white and blue to commemorate all eras of service and service branches for the 105th parade

The parade showcased marching bands, military units, veterans' organizations, and more, all coming together to pay homage to those who have sacrificed for our freedom.

Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor recipient and United States Marine, served as the Grand Marshal for the 2024 parade.

A veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, Meyer received our nation's highest medal for valor for his actions on September 8, 2009, at the village of Ganjgal, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. At the time, Meyer was a 21-year-old corporal, helping train and mentor Afghan Army troops. When he received word that heavily-armed Taliban fighters had pinned down a force of Afghan and U.S. troops, Meyer defied orders and drove into the "killing zone" to help.

Through five successive missions over the course of six hours, Meyer helped save the lives of dozens of American and Afghan troops, changing vehicles when his first was too damaged by enemy fire to continue. He also found the bodies of four missing men from his unit, and, with the help of Afghan allied soldiers, moved the bodies to a safer area from where they could be extracted. Meyer suffered shrapnel wounds to his arm and, in a testament to his heroism, did not expect to survive the battle. "I wasn't really thinking I could die, it was just a matter of when," he later recalled. "I never thought I was going to come out...(but) that's what Marines do."

Cpt. Mercedes Elias and John Escalante served as honorary marshals for this year's event.

Elias served nine years of active duty in the Marine Corps, posting around the U.S. and overseas. Prior to her time in the Marines, Elias was a business leader and veteran advocate, including a stint as the first Women veteran CEO of a broker-dealer on Wall Street. She is also currently a member of the New York City Veterans Advisory Board.

Escalante served over 30 years with multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also a fixture in the New York City veteran/military community even before his retirement as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in 2023.

The New York City Veterans Day Parade is the nation's largest event honoring service.

WABC is a proud community partner of the parade.

Information from the United War Veterans Council.

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