Today, Wednesday, November 11, at 12:30 PM, New York City is hosting the annual New York City Veterans Day Parade to honor and celebrate our country’s heroes. It is the biggest celebration of this holiday in the United States as a whole. Service members will march up Fifth Avenue in honor of their service to the country. Each year, over 25,000 people show up to march on 5th Avenue to 50th Street forever, bringing together veterans, families, and supporters from across the country.
This year, Mark Otto, President and Executive Director of the United War Veterans Council and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has chosen several American heroes to highlight who embody everything Veterans Day honors.
One of these Patriots is NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, who is this year’s Grand Marshal of the 2026 NYC Veterans Day Parade. “Her dedication and service embody the values we honor each Veterans Day,” said Mark Otto. Captain Williams is a retired Navy captain and has been a part of several space missions aboard the International Space Station as a flight engineer for Expedition 14, Expedition 15, Expedition 32, and Expedition 71, and served as the commander of Expedition 33 and Expedition 72.
Another highlighted honoree is Navy Veteran and native New Yorker, Vicky Bello, who served as a Radioman throughout the 80s, including Adak, Alaska, and Ford Island, Hawaii, where she is now the Manager of Community and Veterans Programs for the Theatre Development Fund. This year Vicki Bello will serve as the honorary marshal for the parade, where she had this to say, “It is an incredible honor to be named an Honorary Marshal of the New York City Veterans Day Parade, and I look forward to marching alongside the men and women who have served our country as we celebrate their service, sacrifice, and contributions to our communities,”.
Each year the parade features participants from every service branch of the military and includes thousands of veterans, military members, service organizations, and youth cadets, as well as marching bands, floats, motorcycles, and vintage vehicles honoring veterans of the past, present, and future, military leaders, foreign allies, and public officials alike.
