Las Vegas
Plans Special Veterans Day
With American military personnel
stationed all over the world, the city of Las
Vegas is planning a very special series of celebrations
to mark this year's Veterans Day. As the nation
remembers and honors the brave deeds and amazing
accomplishments of veterans from all American
wars, Las Vegas is planning an operation of
its own, Operation Welcome Home. This year the
city will be working with the U.S. Air Force's
Aviation Nation Air Show, the Mayor of Las Vegas,
the Honorable Oscar B. Goodman, the Fremont
Street Experience and Boyd Gaming Corporation
to assure Vietnam Veterans receive their long-deserved
welcome home.
The series of
events taking place November 10th - 13th throughout
the city will honor all veterans and provide
a special thank you to those soldiers who served
during Vietnam. This very special four-day national
kickoff of Operation Welcome Home will be a
year-long celebration to publicly honor and
thank America's 2.7 million military personnel
who served during Vietnam. This initial round
of celebrations will be the centerpiece of the
annual Aviation Nation festivities sponsored
by Las Vegas-headquartered Boyd Gaming during
the Veteran's Day weekend.
"There
could be no better time or place for this Welcome
Home party than in Las Vegas during our 2005
Centennial celebration," said Las Vegas
Mayor Oscar Goodman. "Las Vegas is proud
of our servicemen and women and equally proud
of our veterans. We anticipate a 2005 Veterans
Day parade and air show that will go down in
the history books."
Some
of the events scheduled over the four-day kick-off
will include:
The
Moving Wall
In
honor of courageous Vietnam veterans, Operation
Welcome Home is putting a half-scale model of
the Vietnam Memorial Wall located in Washington
D.C. at Boyd Gaming's Main Street Station property
adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience from
November 10th - 13th so that veterans, guests
and the public may view the wall and pay respects
to fallen servicemen and women.
Las
Vegas Veterans Day Parade
On
Friday, November 11th, Las Vegas will host one
of the largest Veterans Day parades in America,
which this year will include hundreds of Vietnam
veterans attending from nearly every state in
the United States marching with their former
comrades. In all, more than 110 parade entries,
floats, and more than 2,500 individuals are
expected to participate.
Fremont
Street Experience Patriot Party
To
enhance the tribute, the Fremont Street Experience
in downtown Las Vegas is celebrating veterans
with a free Patriot Party, which will take place
under the 1,500-foot Viva Vision canopy that
rises above Fremont Street. Scheduled headliners
include Felix Cavaliere's Rascals (Nov. 11)
and the legendary '70s rock band The Guess Who
(Nov. 12). A special light show called "Above
and Beyond," will debut in honor of the
veterans November 11th.
Aviation
Nation, the Nellis Air Force Base-Las Vegas
Centennial Air Show
Capping
the festivities is Aviation Nation, the Nellis
Air Force Base-Las Vegas Centennial Air Show,
one of the largest and most entertaining air
shows in America. On Saturday and Sunday, November
12th and 13th there will be jaw- dropping performances
by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration
team and the wildly exciting Boyd Gaming-sponsored
Las Vegas Air Racing wingtip-to- wingtip demonstration
of the worlds fastest motorsport. The air show
will also host an official Operation Welcome
Home recognition ceremony with colorful Vietnam-era
air and ground displays.
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