Scores of Middle Village residents lined Metropolitan Avenue on Sunday afternoon and thanked those who served in defense of the nation during the annual Queens Veterans Day Parade.
Active members of the National Guard as well as local veterans groups marched and received applause from flag-bearing onlookers. They were joined by members of area Boy and Girl Scout troops, military cadet corps and baton twirlers.
The Christ the King Regional High School Marching Band, the Sunnyside Drum Corps and the New York Corrections Department Pipes and Drums Band performed patriotic tunes as they proceeded along the avenue.
Parade watchers also got to see a litany of antique cars and military vehicles as well as the Fire Department’s special 150th anniversary engine and ambulance.
Many politicians were also in attendance including City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, state Senator Joseph Addabbo and City Council members Elizabeth Crowley and Eric Ulrich.
The march, organized by the Queens Veterans Day Parade Committee, paid special tribute to Army Private First Class Le Ron A. Wilson, who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq in 2007. Brigadier General Stephen A. Bucaria, commander of the New York National Guard, served as grand marshal.
