Organizations host parade in honor of Veterans Day
The parade started between 4th and 5th streets and ended at the Fargo Civic Center.
FARGO, N.D.- COVID-19 did not stop the Fargo-Moorhead area from celebrating Veterans Day and thanking those who served.
Veteran organizations in the metro take part in a parade in downtown Fargo that included masks and was limited to 25 percent capacity.
The ceremony usually takes place at the Civic Center was cancelled.
“It wouldn’t work out very well with the way the Civic Center is set up. With the social distancing requirements and things like that and plus now the restrictions on how many people can be in an event we just decided to cancel,” United Patriotic Bodies Commander Jason Hicks said.
Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, Hicks says the community came out and showed support.
“The veteran community, we’re a small community, and we’re a close community. And if someone needs something and needs help with something, we’re there to help each other. It’s really unique,” Hicks said.
One of the veterans who took part this year is Ron Freed from West Fargo. He is a member of the VFW post in Fargo. Freed was 18-years-old when he enlisted in the military.
“I just felt like it was a duty. I volunteered for the draft,” Freed said.
Freed served in the Vietnam War from 1971 to 1972 and through the good and bad, he says what he takes most out that year is the friendships he gained.
“I was closer to those guys then and when we see each other at the reunions, we’re just as close now, as we were then,” Freed says.
Since 1972, he’s been celebrating those friends and every other comrade that has been able to come home to their families.
Even on this day, he says, it’s important to acknowledge those still on the frontlines.
“Thank you for serving right now because we get to stand here in the corner just having a talk and we can say anything we want. It’s the best land in the country,” Freed adds.
Some veteran organizations also had meals for the vets like stew, cookies and coffee.
