NEWS
From The World War II Veterans Committee & The American Veter ans Center
The 2016 National Memorial Day Par ade
On Memorial Day , 2016 , hundreds of thousands of Americans lined Constitution Avenue in Washington , DC for the 12th Annual National Memorial Day Parade .
A moving timeline of American military history , the parade honors all who have served and - most importantly - all who have sacrificed their lives in service to our country .
The National Memorial Day Parade was created by the World War II Veterans Committee & the American Veterans Center in 2005 , following a period of nearly 70 years in which Washington - our nation ’ s capital and headquarters of our military - was without a parade on our armed forces ’ most sacred holiday .
Since its launch in 2005 , the parade has become the largest Memorial Day event in the country , with hundreds of thousands of spectators and millions of viewers watching on television nationwide . It is also televised to American service members nationwide on American Forces Network . It includes nearly 4,000 participants from every state in the union , including marching bands , veterans and active duty troops , historical re-enactors , and celebrity supporters of our military ( such as Joe Mantegna , Gary Sinise , and Food Network Chef Robert Irvine , pictured below ).
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