COVID-19 claims another Las Vegas tradition: Veterans Day parade

It’s the first time the downtown Las Vegas parade, long billed as the “largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi River,” has been canceled.

“I feel terrible in the aspect that we had to cancel it, but we felt a requirement to protect the participants and the spectators,” said the parade organizer, Vietnam War veteran and former Air Force Sgt. Jerry Adams.

Last year, about 5,000 participated in the two-hour parade, which runs north on Fourth Street between Gass and Stewart avenues, while thousands more lined the sidewalks. Many elected officials were a part of the celebrations, including Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Gov. Steve Sisolak.

Adams said the state’s strict mandatory special event operational guidelines issued to combat the spread of the disease caused by the new coronavirus necessitated the cancellation.

“The requirements that would be needed to be in line with the COVID regulations would be just about impossible,” Adams said.

Meghin Delaney, a spokeswoman for Sisolak, said via email that the governor understood and appreciated the difficult decision organizers had to make to pull the plug on the parade.

“This Veterans Day, as Nevadans reflect on the sacrifices and dedication of the brave men and women who selflessly served our country, the governor asks that we all recommit to wearing face coverings and following social distancing guidelines in an effort to protect our Veterans as they’ve protected us,” she wrote.

At last year’s parade, Sisolak praised the event and said “every day should be Veterans Day.”

The current incarnation of the Las Vegas parade began when a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post that had previously put on the event shut down. The nonprofit Veterans Action Group was formed soon after by Adams and his late friend, Billy Stojack, to carry on the tradition and has run it ever since.

Adams took over in 2017 after Stojack, a former Navy SEAL and retired Clark County firefighter, died just two days before the parade.

Because of the parade’s cancellation, organizers will not award the third Billy Stojack Memorial Fund prize to honor a deserving veteran this year.

Goodman said in a statement Tuesday that she was sorry to hear the parade had been canceled due to the pandemic but added, “that does not diminish how thankful we are for our veterans.”

Adams said the group was considering doing a virtual commemoration on Nov. 11 instead, but have not yet decided.

“We’re kicking around some things; I think we’ve got some time,” he said. “It’s still Veterans Day despite COVID-19.”

The cancellation was a disappointment but not a surprise, said Nancy Shank, whose father, Vincent Shank, 103, served as a first lieutenant in the then-Army Air Corps during World War II and was taken prisoner of war.

Each year, he rides in the parade with a sign boasting his age and his POW status.

“It’s always fun to do,” she said. “I can only hope there is containment by November 2021 so my dad’s banner can read ‘105.’”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.