Bearded Warriors planning honor walk in place of Veteran’s Day parade

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on many things this year and the Huntsville Veteran’s Day parade is one of them.

However, even though the parade was cancelled, one Tennessee Valley group is finding another way to still honor veterans.

The Bearded Warriors are a local non-profit focused on preventing veteran suicide and getting vets out in the community to spend time with one another and other community members.

“Our mission is community involvement, it’s a proactive approach that we try to take to get vets and their family members outside of their houses and engaging with those in their community, and trying to find, especially for the veterans, another mission, another purpose for them once they leave the military," said Ty Oswald, the founder of the Bearded Warriors.

Since the 2020 Huntsville Veteran’s Day Parade had to be cancelled they are holding an honor walk instead.

It will start at 9:00 a.m. at the Huntsville Madison County Veteran’s Memorial and will mostly follow the usual parade route along the sidewalks and crosswalks throughout downtown Huntsville.

“An opportunity for those that want to come out and celebrate their own service and the service of someone else, in honor of them, just to get out," Oswald said. "But again, another way to network and communicate with other vets in the area.”

Oswald said this is a great way to honor veterans and also learn from them.

“Veteran’s Day especially, or really any day, if you see someone wearing a shirt that says ‘I’m a vet’, Vietnam veterans especially," he said. “Take the 5 or 6 seconds to go out of your way and say hello, talk to them for a minute and make that veteran know they’re not forgotten no matter when they served.”

If you would like to support the Bearded Warriors they have a fundraiser set up at Mad Malts in downtown Huntsville. It’s at 4 on the afternoon of Veteran’s Day and a portion of the proceeds will go back to the Bearded Warriors.

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