NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — At any given moment you can usually find a party on Nashville's Lower Broadway, but at 11 a.m. on the eleventh day in November, revelers came out onto the sidewalks for a different kind of celebration.
"Thank you for your service," yelled Rebecca Watts.
Watts and her family have made attending the Nashville Veterans Day Parade a sweet family tradition.
"She actually ruined a kitchen table one year making Veterans Day signs, but that’s okay," said Watts, referencing one of her grandchildren.
They've attended year after year for more than 20 years, all in the hopes of sending a clear message.
"A lot of people have given their all so we can be free, and we need to honor that," said Watts. "I took the day off work to come down here. It’s the least we can do."
It was a homecoming of sorts for Tommy Natcher.
"I was in the parade when I was younger — in the cub scouts — so, it’s amazing to be back," he said. "Their sacrifice means so much."
And while a lot of out-of-town visitors might have forgotten the occasion, certainly not all of them did.
"We get together every year and enjoy our company and rekindle," said Juan Arbelaez.
Arbelaez is a retired staff sergeant with the U.S. Marines who travels once a year to meet up with his old unit.
"The most important part of it: it regrounds us as to who we are as Marines, as friends and brothers and sisters," he said.
Arbelaez loves the fact that the parade marches straight through the party.
"It’s good; it’s really good," said Arbelaez.
Because as our veterans process down the hill, people from all backgrounds can honor those who have sacrificed so much for us all.
"It really sort of adds to the excitement," said Watts.
"People walking up and down the street probably didn’t know about the parade, and then when they see the parade, it just triggers into their mind to thank veterans for what they’ve done," said Natcher.
Even if the break in the party lasts only for a few moments, those are a few moments that connect all in the parade's proximity.
