Central Valley Veterans Day Parade centennial celebration in Fresno called largest in U.S.

The Central Valley Veterans Day Parade in downtown Fresno celebrated a major milestone Monday: 100 years of thanking U.S. military veterans and members for their service.

The centennial celebration parade was described as twice its usual size and the largest of its kind in the United States.

Daniel Payne, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and president of the nonprofit parade committee, was the lead grand marshal – one of 17 honored this year.

“It’s always been my passion to honor our veterans,” Payne said. “We have the highest concentration of veterans in Central California. Over 350,000 veterans in the Central California area, more than anywhere. We have 2 million veterans in California.”

Fresno City Councilmember Paul Caprioglio was among event speakers for the parade that began at City Hall and ended near Chukchansi Park.

“Grateful to the brave service men and women who have chosen to dedicate themselves to serving and protecting our great country,” Caprioglio wrote on his Facebook page. “Let us ALWAYS remember and Thank a Veteran.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 3:50 PM.