APPLETON (NBC 26) — The City of Appleton honored and remembered everyone who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation's freedoms Monday morning.
- The city's annual Memorial Day parade drew hundreds to College Avenue
- Current and former military veterans led
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for the web)
Hundreds lined College Avenue on Monday, waving the red, white, and blue and representing the stars and stripes for Appleton's Memorial Day parade.
Including Timothy Cody.
"We're a lucky nation surrounded by two great oceans," he joked. "Most of the wars, luckily, have been off of our soil."
But Cody also says Memorial Day goes beyond the holiday weekend.
"Sometimes, we need to remind our nation of the sacrifices of our soldiers."
Cody spent 28 years in the military. A retired US Army colonel, he completed two combat tours in Iraq.
Today, he brought an 18-wheeler donned with the names and faces of the fallen.
"They get to drive the truck, I get to drive the Toyota FJ440 there."
Further up the parade route was the Appleton Police Department Honor Guard, which includes Lieutenant Brandon Edwards.
Edwards is also an Iraq war veteran, twice deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a member of the Army National Guard.
"The fact that men and women of this country have paid the ultimate sacrifice and laid down their life in defense of this country and the freedoms that we have, I believe it is special that the city of Appleton does take the honor and recognition of that," he says, praising the city's continued dedication to holding the Memorial Day parade each year.
With flags waving proudly and hearts filled with gratitude, the city of Appleton paid another timeless tribute to the heroes who gave everything for our freedom.
