Parade highlights weekend of Veterans Day events

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 9:30 a.m.

A parade and prayer service in Las Vegas, a tribute in Henderson and the honoring of veterans of Pearl Harbor in Boulder City are among the Veterans Day events on tap for this weekend.

The Veterans Day Parade will be 11 a.m. Sunday along Fourth Street from Charleston Boulevard to Fremont Street. The event will feature bands, floats and a judging of entries for a post-parade gala and awards ceremony.

The Veterans Day Parade Committee, comprising local veterans organizations, is sponsoring the event.

An hour before the parade, clergy from throughout the Las Vegas Valley will be joined by representatives from local, state and federal government and veterans at the Lowden Veterans Center and Museum at 3333 Cambridge St. for a "One Nation Under God" prayer ceremony.

The Council of Nevada Veterans Organizations is sponsoring the event.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will deliver the keynote address at the Veterans Memorial Wall adjacent to Henderson City Hall. The wall was dedicated on Veterans Day 1994 and features more than 1,350 names of Henderson veterans. Twenty-eight names will be added Saturday.

The Basic High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC and the city of Henderson are sponsoring the event.

At 1 p.m. Sunday at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, former Nevada governor and current Sun Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan will deliver the keynote address at a ceremony honoring Pearl Harbor veterans. The 60th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor will be on Dec. 7.

About two dozen Pearl Harbor veterans from Nevada are expected to attend, said cemetery director Jack Porrino, who credited local women Laura Dunkerson, a veterans cemetery employee, and Patti Kaufman, of the yet-to-open veterans skilled nursing home in Boulder City, for spearheading the event.

Also, in honor of Veterans Day and in remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, the entrance fees, boat user fees and campground fees for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area will be waived Saturday through Monday, the National Park Service said.

The usual admission charge to Lake Mead is $5 for five days per car, an additional $10 for five days for vehicles towing boats and $10 per night for campers.