WEEKEND TO-DO: Riverside to Recognize Veterans Saturday

By City News Service:

Marching bands, floats, tanks, horses and military hardware will be making their way through downtown Riverside Saturday for the city’s 10th annual “Salute to Veterans Parade.”

The two-hour event, which gets underway at 10 a.m., will feature representatives from almost 120 organizations, with veterans from each service branch taking part, led this year by Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer.

According to organizers, there will be a special tribute to Army Maj. Hilary M. Blevins, who participated in “Operation Tidal Wave,” bombing Axis oil fields in Romania during World War II. Blevins’ B-24 was shot down, and he and the other nine crewmen aboard the aircraft crash landed in Sicily. All survived.

Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey and state Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, will be riding in the parade, which also will feature Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, members of the American Legion, Boy Scout troops and former Green Berets. Flyovers are planned by local aviators at the controls of classic warbirds, and military hardware, including armored personnel carriers, will be on display, along with law enforcement equestrian and K9 units.

The parade will begin at Riverside Community College, Magnolia Avenue and Ramone Drive, and travel an estimated mile-long route to the Riverside Historic Courthouse, 4050 Main St.

(Image via Shutterstock)