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    Thursday, April 25, 2024

    Massachusetts city cancels Veterans Day parade

    Spectators wave flags while watching the annual Veterans Day Parade, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Owensboro, Ky. While Veterans Day is being marked around the country this weekend, a Massachusetts city has canceled its parade because of a dwindling number of spectators and participants. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)

    NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts city has canceled its nearly century-old Veterans Day parade this year because of a dwindling number of spectators and participants.

    Steven Connor, director of Central Hampshire Veterans' Services, says he's been helping organize the Northampton parade for 14 years, and estimates that participation has decreased by about half in recent years.

    VFW Post 8006 Commander Tom Pease says World War II and Korean War veterans are just too old to march these says.

    City Veterans Council President Brad LeVay says younger veterans are not interested in marching.

    The parade began as a way to welcome soldiers returning from World War I.

    There will still be a ceremony and an annual breakfast Sunday to mark the day, and organizers say they may bring the parade back in the future.

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