HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — In downtown Huntsville, people lined the streets honoring the service of the veterans who call the community home.
For more than 60 years, the Huntsville community has taken this day as an opportunity to say thank you to the many veterans in our area. The annual parade brings generations of people together to remember their service.
“I’m very lucky because he could have not come back, but he did,” said Aubrey Zaiden, a parade participant. “That’s very important, and I love being here with him.”
Zaiden said it is important to honor veterans, including her dad, John Mazzarella.
“Veterans Day is so very important and impactful,” Mazzarella said. “It’s great to see these flags, all these people out here supporting us.”
Mazarella spent 27 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, deploying to twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq.
“It’s just a great day for us,” Mazarella said. “It’s great to see the veterans on either side of the road cheering us on, and we wave to them and salute them whether they’ve served overseas or served at home. Combat or not, they wore a uniform and defended the nation, and they deserve it.”
Mazarella’s son, Logan, said he believes it is important to remember the sacrifices made by his dad and others who served.
“I think it’s very important that we get to honor those who came back with the American flag on their coffins, that they served in our country to make us all free and that we get to do this today,” said Logan Mazzarella. “I think we should not waste this opportunity they have given us.”
Mazzarella’s daughter marched with the American Heritage Girls and his son with Trail Life, both organizations that have participated in the Veterans Day parade for years.
