Veterans honored at Union County parade

Lewisburg, Pa. — Military veterans and service members, from World War II to those currently serving, were greeted by crowds of people lining the streets of Lewisburg for the annual veterans parade on Saturday.

The Union County Veterans Fourth of July Parade kicked off at Eighth and Market streets at 10 a.m. to throngs of people crowding the sidewalks along the route. Marching bands, fire trucks, and military veterans spanning World War II to the present made their way along the route that ended near Bucknell University.

Kevin Bittenbender, parade committee member and former president, greeted each of the veterans as they reached the end of the parade route at St. George Street.

This year, for the first time, the parade culminated in a gathering at Hufnagle Park, where food trucks and vendors welcomed the crowd. In previous years, the parade ended at Bucknell University's Grove on campus, but the hope was to keep the crowds — and customers — closer to the downtown shops, Bittenbender explained.

The North Shore Railroad brought two working memorial locomotives dedicated to members of the U.S. Armed Services to the park, as well. Each are painted with the silhouette of a military scene, with one locomotive reading " All Gave Some" and the other reading "Some Gave All."

The parade is one of the largest honoring veterans and the Fourth of July in the area, Bittenbender said. It's also one of the few to recognized and honor Gold Star Families, or those who have had family members killed at war.

"They're often forgotten, but they too paid the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

This year, instead of a Grand Marshal, the parade was in honor of all first responders, Bittenbender said. The planned flyover, which usually opens the parade at 10 a.m., was canceled because of low cloud cover, but the threat of rain held off for parade-goers and participants throughout the two-hour event.