Veterans Day parade in Fayetteville honors Native Americans who served

The Veterans Day parade in Fayetteville has been a special tradition in Cumberland County for nearly 30 years.

The parade began at 10 a.m. Saturday at 222 Hay St. in downtown Fayetteville. The parade was livestreamed on WRAL.com.

This year marked the 28th year the Cumberland County Veterans Council has put on the parade. The 2024 theme is “Native Americans Who Served.”

WRAL Fayetteville reporter Gilbert Baez, who has served as the parade’s master of ceremonies all 28 years, said the parade is one filled with pride, with units from Fort Liberty, marching bands from local high schools and veterans representing all branches of the military proudly marching down Hay Street to the beat of their own drums.

Juan Roman, a member of the Hopi Tribe, will serve as the parade’s grand marshal. Roman is a veteran of both the Army and the Air Force.

Residents say Fayetteville is a melting pot of veterans from all over the county, including Kenny Joyner, a veteran from from Chicago who served in the Marines. He said 90% of his Cumberland County neighborhood is comprised of veterans.

“We have people from all over the world.,” Joyner said. “We have people from all over Europe, you have people from Asia, people from over in South America, just from everywhere.”

Veterans Day is Monday, Nov. 11.

In October, the Wake County Council of Veterans made the decision to cancel the Veterans Day Parade in Raleigh for the second year in a row.

Organizers first canceled the parade in 2023 after the city of Raleigh released new parade guidelines following the 2022 death of 11-year-old Hailey Brooks, who died in the Raleigh Christmas Parade when an out-of-control truck carrying a parade float hit her.

Parade organizers for Raleigh’s Veterans Day parade said the rules were too strict to meet deadlines on time.

WRAL News reached out to the city of Raleigh, who provided this statement from a spokesperson:

“Organizers of the Veterans Day Parade were included in the process when we set our parade guidelines earlier this year. We also met with them multiple times in recent months. We can’t speak for them as to why they chose not to have a parade, but we can tell you our top priority is and always will be the health, safety, and welfare of our community for these events.”

In 2023, the Wake County Council of Veterans still held a ceremony in front of the state capitol building with a band in place of a parade. This year, the Council of Veterans will hold another ceremony outside the capitol building at 11 a.m. on Nov. 9.

Wheeled vehicles are still allowed in the Fayetteville parade.