Columbia will hold its annual Veterans Day Parade next Wednesday, November 11, running from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in what's billed as one of the largest Veterans Day celebrations in the Southeast. The event honors service members, veterans, and military families who define the Midlands, and it carries extra weight given its longstanding ties to nearby Fort Jackson.
According to WIS News 10, the station will provide live coverage of the parade starting at 11 a.m. on November 11, when the procession steps off through the city. WIS has described its presence at the parade as part of a long-running Midlands tradition, having covered the event in years past as well.
A Tradition Years in the Making
Columbia's Veterans Day Parade has built a reputation over the years as a hallmark Midlands gathering. The city's parade has previously been described by the City of Columbia as one of the Southeast's largest Veterans Day parades, a distinction that has carried into this year's planning, per WIS News 10's reporting on the 2026 event.
Columbia’s parade tradition predates the current annual event. In 1979, Mayor Kirkman Finlay was present at a large downtown military parade, and an estimated 25,000 spectators watched more than 3,000 uniformed troops from Army, Navy, Marine and National Guard units, along with a jet flyover. The route included Sumter Street, a corridor that has long served as a public stage for the city’s military tributes, as documented in Richland Library’s account of Columbia’s parade history.
The parade's connection to Fort Jackson has also been a recurring thread. The United States Army has documented soldiers marching in past Columbia parades, including a caption noting residents waving flags as the 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment marched down Sumter Street during a past City of Columbia Veterans Day Parade.
Fort Jackson’s connection to the parade reflects its continuing role in Army training and its long history in the area. The installation began as Camp Jackson, approved as a Columbia training site in 1917. Today, it is the Army’s largest and most active initial-entry training center, training about half of the soldiers entering the Army each year. The post says roughly 35,000 trainees attend basic combat training and 8,000 attend advanced individual training there annually, as detailed in Fort Jackson’s official history.
What's Confirmed for 2026
For now, the confirmed details are straightforward: the parade takes place Wednesday, November 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Columbia, and WIS plans to be on hand with live coverage beginning at 11 a.m.
The November 11 date traces to the armistice that halted fighting in World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Congress changed the holiday’s name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954, expanding its purpose to honor veterans of all wars. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notes that the original observance included parades and public meetings, with business briefly suspended beginning at 11 a.m.—a tradition that helps explain the significance of the parade’s scheduled start, as outlined in the VA’s history of Veterans Day.
What is clear is the scale of community interest the event tends to draw. Past parades have prompted road closures across downtown Columbia, and crowds have lined Sumter Street in previous years to watch military units and veterans groups pass by, underscoring the event's standing as a major annual tradition for the city and its Fort Jackson neighbors.
