POCATELLO — Members of each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, classic sports cars and a possible flyover by A-10 Thunderbolts are just a few of the highlights organizers have planned for the first Veterans Day parade in Pocatello since the World War II era.

Richard Hollingsworth, District 7 commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said he and several other committee members are pulling out all the stops to make this coming Veterans Day special, particularly for the significant number of local veterans whose welcoming after service abroad was less than warm and receptive.

“We’ve been aching to do this parade for the past three years, so I’m excited as hell about this,” Hollingsworth said. “For me, this is going to be my official welcoming home for Vietnam, which is something not many of the older vets got a chance to experience.”

The first floats and participants in the parade, set to begin at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, will include members of the U.S. Army followed by an Army official who will ride in a classic sports car and serve as the Army parade marshal, Hollingsworth said. The Idaho State University marching band will perform during this first portion of the parade featuring the Army.

Hollingsworth said he and the other six members of the parade planning committee have worked tirelessly to include members in the event from each branch of the military, including the Army, ISU Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Marines, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, Space Force and even the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.

“The Coast Guard personnel are coming out of Seattle, Washington, and even though they’re Homeland Security they are still military and can be reactivated for national defense,” Hollingsworth said.

Each branch of the military participating in the parade will have its own parade marshal.

“It’s been quite the process trying to make contact with folks from all of the military branches,” Hollingsworth said. “I even had to call the Pentagon a few times to get the proper email addresses and was on the phone with several human resources departments at the local and regional bases. It goes on and on. It was not really painstaking but it was awfully time consuming.”

In addition to ensuring each Armed Forces branch will be represented at the parade, Hollingsworth said the committee hopes to have more than 15 veteran services organizations participate in the event. He said each veteran services organization will have members of the Boy Scouts of America with them during the parade carrying a special banner depicting the group’s name, emblem or insignia, and the date it was established.

The parade will feature a memory and honor walk with veterans from the Idaho State Veterans Home in Pocatello as well as members of the community holding photos of fallen veterans.

Hollingsworth said the committee is also looking to have some horses participate in the parade and has put in an application to have between two and four A-10 Thunderbolts fly over the event.

Tentatively, Hollingsworth said the parade will begin at the intersection of East Center Street and South First Avenue. The parade will travel east on Center Street to South 15th Avenue and then south to the parking lot of Idaho State University’s Reed Gym on Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Organizers are still working to determine the exact setup time for the parade.

At Caldwell Park, parade watchers will have the opportunity to hear Paul Anderson, a longtime Pocatello radio broadcaster, and Melissa Hartman, the Bannock County veteran services coordinator and a key organizer in the annual Idaho Field of Heroes Memorial, announce the history of each military branch and veteran services organization that’s participating in the parade. Hartman and Anderson will also announce the name of the parade marshal for each branch, Hollingsworth said.

The work to bring back the Veterans Day parade began in 2019 with an idea from Pocatello VFW Post 735 member Chester Avery, but the effort has grown to include several volunteers, Hollingsworth said. The last time a similar event was held in Pocatello was in the 1940s, he added.

In addition to Hollingsworth, the parade planning committee includes Marshall G. Riggall, a retired Navy commander; Mike Myers of Farm Bureau Insurance; Mike Smith, a lieutenant with the Air Force Civil Air Patrol; George Breshears, a retired Civil Air Patrol colonel; Steve Roberts, a retired Army colonel; and Hiedi Young with Veterans Family Services.

Hollingsworth also gave a special thank you to Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad and the city staff for all of their assistance.

“I am overwhelmed with excitement for this parade, so much that I’m losing sleep over it trying to make sure that we are implementing everything we can to make this the best parade ever,” Hollingsworth said. “This is our parade as veterans and we deserve it.”

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