American Legion Post 372 members Mary Breen, Dennis Gibbons, Sue Quinn-Morris and Rich Dickson participated in the 5th Annual Philadelphia Veterans Parade on November 5, 2019. We had our American Legion Post 372 banner attached to Rich's vehicle for all to see! Other members from our Legion Riders (Art Schneider, John Callari, Bob Muise and Steve Lena) and our friends in the Nam Knights also participated and led the parade off with other motorcycle groups/MCs.

The parade route began at Juniper and Market Streets with a brigade of over 250 motorcyclists and continued heading east on Market Street and concluding at North 5th Street where the Veterans Festival took place. Simultaneous to the parade’s kickoff, paratroopers made a dramatic coordinated jump and descended onto the Independence Mall landing.

The Veterans Festival took place during the parade on Market Street between 3rd and 5th Streets and continued until 4 PM. Vet Fest is a fun and family-friendly atmosphere where veterans and family members gain access to resources ranging from job recruitment to healthcare benefits and service providers, to educational opportunities, financial assistance and workshops. VSO’s that participated in the Vet Fest include: Salvation of Sorrows, American Red Cross, Team RWB, Veterans Multi-Service Center and Main Line Health.

“The parade isn’t just about one day a year, it’s about helping veterans and raising awareness of issues our veterans face 365 days of the year,” says Anthony Murphy, President of Philadelphia Veterans Parade. “We’re grateful to our sponsors and partners who make it possible to celebrate veterans in such an extraordinary way.”

In addition to the celebration, veterans were honored with a wreath-laying ceremony, a letter-writing and hand-painted flags station to send to active-duty service members, and a tree donation and planting from the Primex Garden Center.

Entertainment at Vet Fest included live music from Minutes to Midnight, Lucky Leo and Dan Stonerook. Tasty pay-as-you-go bites and brews were offered with a beer garden by Philadelphia Brewing Company, and food trucks from P.J. Whelihan’s, Jeremiah’s Custom Cuisine, Dom’s Dogs, Grilly Cheese, Deke’s BBQ andTuck-ins. In addition to the festivities, the Phillie Phanatic made a guest appearance to meet with veterans and their families to join in on the fun and pose for photo opportunities. Family-friendly activities included face painting, a rock-climbing wall, Giant Connect 4, a two-minute football drill, stilt walkers and more. 

Sue Quinn-Morris, an Auxiliary member and founder of Patriot Connections has donated her website/social media services to the Philadelphia Veterans Parade since its inception - visit the website www.phillyveteransparade.org for photos and videos of the parade.