Overview
- The parade stepped off up Fifth Avenue from East 25th Street to East 45th Street after a wreath-laying at Madison Square Park around 11 a.m.
- Festivities opened with a ruck march through memorials in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, with troops later helping carry a large American flag.
- Grand marshals were Medal of Honor recipient Clinton Romesha, veterans’ advocate Stephen Peck and NASA astronaut and retired Navy Capt. Sunita Williams.
- Participation figures diverged, with some reports and organizers citing more than 200,000 participants, while another outlet reported over 20,000 service members marching.
- Organizers said every branch and generations of veterans since World War II were represented, with about 150 vehicles and more than two dozen floats in the procession.