Organizers of the second annual Veteran’s Day Parade are still seeking volunteers to carry flags and help with the setup. The event will be held 2 p.m. Nov. 9 and is estimated to last 45 minutes. The parade is the brainchild of local veteran Terry Lacey, who attended a similar event, and decided Oak Harbor should have one.

“In 2011, I participated in the Burlington Veterans Day Parade and immediately asked ‘why don’t we have a veterans day parade’ in Oak Harbor and no one seemed to have an answer other than ‘the weather in November,’” Lacey said.

“Our veterans did not stop protecting our freedom because of the weather so why not celebrate Veterans Day to remember all veterans who have served, are serving or retired regardless of the weather conditions?”

Parade route will run west from Midway Boulevard and Pioneer Way to Highway 20 ending in front of Ace Hardware.

Veteran’s Day Parade participation is limited to veteran groups or special invitation groups such as bands, ROTC or other groups as agreed by the Veterans Day Event Committee Staff. Places in the parade will be assigned on the day of the parade.

Similar to last year, the parade will include approximately 50 fallen hero banners featuring the name and face of a local fallen serviceman or woman.

The grand marshal of this year’s parade will be Olga Belevich (Bel) Evans, who served as an Army Air Corps Flight Nurse, during World War II. Evans as one of only 1,514 army flight nurses in the country’s history. She served for two years, one month, and 13 days from July 1, 1943 until Aug. 13, 1945, and was issued an Honorable Service Lapel Button when she was discharged as a first lieutenant.

“As a first generation American, mom was very proud to serve in the United States Army Air Corps, as a flight nurse during World War II. She is so pleased to have been selected to be the 2013 Grand Marshal of Oak Harbor’s Veteran’s Day Parade,” said her daughter Deborah Dinger. “She will once again, don her uniform with great pride.”

For more information, to preregister or to volunteer, contact Terry Lacey at laceytdl@comcast.net