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Arizona’s veterans honored with Phoenix parade
The 27th annual Phoenix Veterans Day Parade 2023, once again sponsored by the non-profit group Honoring America’s Vet- erans, is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 11.
The parade heads south on Central and Montebello, crosses west on Camelback, and heads south on 7th Street, ending at Indian School Road.
The exact time may vary depending on the final number of parade entries, but it typically lasts for two hours, ending around 1 p.m.
Attendees should allow ample time before and after for parking, and/or walk- ing to the location you’d prefer to view the parade.
The veterans who will ride in Phoenix Veterans Day Parade as Grand Marshals represent service in various wars and cam- paigns, and many branches of the military. For more information, visit https://honor- ingamericasveterans.org/2023-phoenix- veterans-day-parade/
• World War II, U.S. Marine Corps vet- eran Navajo Code Talker Thomas Begay, Window Rock, Ariz. Begay served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, attaining the rank of corporal. He was selected as one of the 33 Navajo Code Talkers to be assigned to the renowned 5th Marine Division Signal Company and in
the Radio Section of the H & S Company, 27th Begay is a survivor of the Battle of Iwo. After his military service, Begay worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring after 40 years of federal service. He now enjoys speaking about the Navajo Code Talkers.
• Korean War, U.S. Navy veteran Jerry Hecht, Sun Lakes, Ariz. Lt.(jg) Gerald “Jerry” Hecht joined the Navy shortly after graduating from the University of Cincinnati Pharmacy College in May 1952. In the Navy, he completed three deployments to the western Pacific, at times operating off the coast of the Korean Peninsula at the height of the Korean War. On one occasion, his ship took fire from the Communist forces of North Korea. Two of his children are veterans, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Hecht, and U.S. Navy Capt. Richard Hecht.
• Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Col. Herbert Pierpan, Scottsdale, Ariz. Pierpan served in Vietnam twice; in 1963 as an adviser to the Vietnamese Ma- rines and then again in 1968 as a company commander in the First Battalion, Fourth Marines, Third Marine Division.
• Cold War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Hughes Byrne, Casa Grande, Ariz. Byrne completed air crew training and was
awarded Naval aviation flight wings with HMM 264. While stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, he went on two WestPac cruises with the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Team Pacific area. One of his hu- manitarian acts was delivering aid to the leprosy colony on Molokai Island. After leaving active duty, he later joined the Army National Guard, where he deployed to Bosnia for 14 months, and then to Iraq in 2005. After retirement, he became a leader with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and coordinates the Casa Grande Veter- ans Day Parade.
• Desert Storm/Persian Gulf War, U.S. Army veteran Patricia Little Upah, Tempe, Ariz. Upah, a retired U.S. Army Nurse served in the Persian Gulf War in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm in 1991, and Vietnam in 1968. In the Army Reserves, she was the commander of the 6253rd USAH before retiring in 2004 at the rank of Colonel.
• Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Air Force veteran Jeffrey DeVore, Goodyear, Ariz. DeVore served 25 years in the Air Force, serving from 1992 to 2017. He flew C-130 cargo aircraft to all corners of the world with more than 4,400 flight hours and 850 in combat. His service includes support for the invasion of Iraq, the Battle
of Fallujah, the Battle of Ramadi, and the Battle of Basra. DeVore also flew combat missions in Afghanistan.
• Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. Army veteran Amanda Tallman, Peoria, Ariz. Tallman joined the Army Military Police Corps in 2007, serving as an MK19 gunner, when women were banned from combat. In the Army Reserves, she became a Military Intelligence Officer in Arizona. After her medical retirement in 2018, she continues to serve with her nonprofit, First Page, connecting nonprofits and groups that work with veterans, first responders, and kids to horses, and with Concerned Veterans for America.
• Celebrity Grand Marshal, Supermodel Kim Alexis, Scottsdale, Ariz. Kim Alexis is part of an elite group of fashion models who rose to supermodel status in the 1980s. She was discovered at 17 at a Buffalo, N.Y., modeling agency. She has more than 500 worldwide magazine covers, including Vogue, Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan, and set the record for Glamour. She comes from a military family. Her husband’s grandfather served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and then retired and re-enlisted as an officer in the Air Force. His father also served in the U.S. Air Force and was sta- tioned at Strategic Air Command.
BEYOND
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