Spending my first Remembrance Day outside the UK provided the opportunity to attend a Veterans Day parade in Kissimmee, Florida.
The emphasis of the parade focused on the surviving veterans of American conflicts rather than the war dead so different from the traditional British commemoration. Additionally, the prominence given to the POW/MIA flag in the procession – given much wider legal status recently – references the 82,000 American missing in action rather than casualties.
The local war memorials were well kept but entirely undecorated with wreaths – but this may be because the parade was 2 days before 11th November.
What was very different was the make-up of the parade: local dignitaries, school ROTCs, two Daughters of the Republic and a troupe on horseback outnumbered the veterans – who were largely riding Harley-Davidsons.
So an interesting comparison to traditional British methods of commemoration.
caught on the wire 