The Jackson County Veterans Office held a Veterans Day parade on Nov. 11 in downtown Sylva.
The cloudy skies did little to deter over 100 locals as they lined the streets to cheer on their hometown heroes. Sheila Setzer, the director of the Jackson County Veterans Office, started the Veterans Day Parade in 2015, which has now honored the veterans of Jackson County for eight years.
A four-person color guard from American Legion Post 104 led the parade, followed by the Smoky Mountain High School marching band who played ‘You’re a Grand Old Flag.’
Preceding the band was Vietnam veteran and the president of the Jackson County Veterans Organization, Tom Baker, who was accompanied by vice president and gold-star widow, Crystal Cochran. Also in their company was active duty Lt. Col. Joshua Edwards, his family, and Vietnam veteran Steve Allen.
Cochran later shared how the JCVO serves local Veterans. “When we have someone struggling in this community, Tom and I come together to provide as much care as we can, and if we see there is a problem we will take them to the VA ourselves and try to get them treatment and try to do whatever we need to do for the Veterans of Jackson County.”
Next, a motorcade of six red, white, and blue Mustang Mach-E GTs chauffeured veterans from Jackson County. Andy Shaw Ford provided the Mustangs. The Mustangs were trailed by a long line of patriotic decorated Jeeps from WNC Jeepers and several iconic American cars like a candy-red Chevrolet 3100 pickup truck from the 1950s.
After the parade, Cochran shared what Veterans Day means to her, stating, “It means an appreciation for the people who have fought for my freedom… These people have put their lives on the line for us to be able to worship the way we want, live the way we want, to vote for our government good or bad.” Cochran continued by noting an important issue to recognize on Veterans Day, “There is a duty for our country to take care of them, especially in mental health… We have a lot of other resources and I think the health care is good, but mental health is not.”
Next, Lt. Col. Edwards told the WCJ how he views Veterans Day as an active duty veteran. “I fully support the fact that if me and you don’t go to a ceremony we probably do show pause at a moment or have a thought about a person we know who has served or is serving, and that is the important part. That fact that people are allowed in the U.S. to go about and continue their day-to-day lives on a regular basis. That’s a testament enough for what I and other service members do for a living.”
See more photos and information about the event in the photo story bellow.
