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Missouri Army National Guard Joins In Florissant Parade Nov. 11 Honoring Vets
In the midst of colorful floats, fife and drum corps and cheering crowds waving American flags, the Missouri Army National Guard will be among 60+ units participating in this year’s fourth annual Veterans Day parade in Florissant. The event is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11, starting at 1 p.m.
Guard Soldiers will be providing a Color Guard and a military Humvee for the parade’s Grand Marshall, Mayor Robert Lowery of Florissant to ride in. Also, the Missouri National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force will be landing an OH-58 helicopter near the Eagan Civic Center and setting up a display as part of the community’s all-day affair. The helicopter carries an infra-red camera that is used for reconnaissance and Counterdrug operations. Pilots will be on hand to give children tours of the aircraft’s interior.
The four-mile parade begins at the corner of St. Rue Francois and St. Charles and continues on St. Rue Francois to New Florissant Road. It then turns left on St. Catherine and makes another left onto Waterford before ending in the parking lot of the Eagan Civic Center. Patriotic music will be performed by the Hazelwood Central High School marching band, Lewis & Clark Fife and Drum Corps and the John Ford Hyland Band. In addition, KTRS Radio on-air personality McGraw Millhaven will be the Parade Marshall.
After the parade, an awards ceremony will be held at the Eagan Civic Center to honor Florissant’s Veteran of the Year and several widows of veterans. The master of ceremonies will be Paul Arca, a KLOU-FM on-air personality. At the completion of the program, attendees will be served a free meal, compliments of Hooter’s.
“We appreciate being asked to join the Florissant community in honoring our Soldiers of the past and present,” said Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard.
‘Our veterans, both past and present, defended America when our borders, our people and our way of life were threatened and we owe them a great deal of our gratitude for their sacrifices,” said Sidwell.
The Missouri National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force provides highly skilled personnel, specialized equipment, and facilities to support law enforcement agencies and community organizations in response to the changing drug threat.
In cooperation with the Missouri Highway Patrol and local drug agents, it has performed several RAID flight missions to help eradicate marijuana in many communities throughout the state. A recent Drug Demand Reduction Flight was done in the St. Louis area.
One of the main missions of the Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force is to reduce the demand for drugs. The best method of accomplishing this objective is through youth education. Camp DEFY (Drug Education For Youth) is a combined effort of the Missouri National Guard, Operation Weed & Seed St. Louis, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Missouri. It involves taking school-age children through a two-phase process.
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, call 1-888-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.
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