Red, white and blue decorations covered Bowling Green to honor veterans, Saturday, Nov. 8.
The annual Bowling Green Veterans’ Day parade segwayed into this year’s new addition to Veterans Day celebrations, a veterans event at the Kentucky Museum. Both events aimed to recognize and honor past and present veterans from Bowling Green and Kentucky.
In the early morning, the parade, which had a theme of “Honor, Courage, Service, Sacrifice,” celebrated veterans with a long motorcade of participants through downtown Bowling Green. Firetrucks, floats and veterans in Corvettes rode around downtown, accompanied by local JROTCs and marching bands.
“It always makes me proud of my community to see how patriotic we are as a community, and to see all the people that turn out for this Veterans Day Parade,” said Brigadier General Dan Cherry, who has helped immortalize local veterans through the Aviation Heritage Park and provided commentary for this year’s parade.
The Aviation Heritage Park showcases aircraft and artifacts representing the stories of veterans and their sacrifices. On Nov. 8, they held a Gold Star Marker dedication, which honors and remembers the families of service members that died while serving.
Active and retired veterans, military families, and elected officials walked and rode with the parade, waving to members of the community lined up on the streets and handing out flags and candy.
“It’s important for everyone, not just the city of Bowling Green, but for everyone (to recognize veterans), because their sacrifices in the times or need are what allows the freedoms for everything else that we do within our society,” said Michael Oliver, retired first sergeant from the Kentucky Army National Guard, who watched the parade on his motorcycle.
Later in the day, the Kentucky Museum organized its first-ever Veterans Day event in honor of the United States’ 250-year anniversary in 2026. It celebrated the impact that veterans have left on Kentucky, inviting local veterans to create community and be honored.
The event provided lectures about some of Kentucky’s history-making veterans, taught by WKU’s historians.
“Even if they played a very, very small role, or they were a high-ranking commissioned officer, if they were a general of some kind, no (veteran) should be forgotten,” said David Serafini, professor of Military History who led a lecture entitled “Kentuckians at War.”
The museum also displayed some artifacts from World War I and II that were donated by WKU alumni who served in either war and their descendants.
Bryan Morey, the collections manager for the Kentucky Museum, said that looking at the artifacts made it feel real to him and other observers.
The event provided a space for organizations that held veterans to table and interact with the community.
Roberto Armador, who was representing the Civil Air Patrol, said that he feels Bowling Green is a city that takes care of its veterans.
“It is amazing to be able to be thought of,” Armador said. “There’s a lot of our veterans that did not come back, and they also are recognized in one way or the other.”
