Downtown San Jose fills with marching bands, color guards and veterans groups Wednesday as the city stages its 108th annual Veterans Day parade, a tradition that traces back to 1918. More than 80 units are expected to take part, according to seed reporting from the parade's organizers, with this year's edition built around a tribute to Vietnam War veterans while also honoring service members from the Revolutionary War through the Afghanistan conflict.
Retired Major General Takes the Lead
Leading the procession as grand marshal is Jody Merritt, a retired U.S. Air Force major general who previously served with U.S. Space Command. Merritt now runs JM Astris Advisors, a Sunnyvale-based firm that consults on space and robotics ventures, according to The Mercury News. Merritt steps into a role held last year by A.J. Pasciuti, who served as grand marshal of San Jose's 107th parade on Nov. 11, 2025, per the same account.
The day begins with a ceremony at 11 a.m. on Market Street in front of The Tech Interactive, the Mercury News reports. The parade itself is set to kick off at noon from Barack Obama Boulevard and Santa Clara Street in front of SAP Center. Timing details differ slightly elsewhere: the San Francisco Chronicle lists the parade running from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday and places the commemorative ceremony at the newly renamed Plaza de San Jose, while Mommy Poppins describes the same 11 a.m. ceremony as taking place at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, with the parade starting promptly at noon.
A Route Through the Heart of Downtown
Per the Chronicle's account, the parade route begins at Almaden Boulevard and proceeds down West Santa Clara Street to Market Street, ending at Market and San Carlos streets. Along the way, marchers will include military vehicles, veterans organizations, service groups, scouts and elected officials, the Mercury News notes. The San Jose State marching band is set to participate for the first time in recent memory, adding a new face to a lineup that otherwise leans on long-running community traditions.
One name expected to draw attention from the crowd is Joseph Ouellette, a 100-year-old veteran Navy officer and commander who served during World War II, according to the seed report. His presence ties the parade to Keep the Spirit of '45 Alive, a nonprofit initiative dedicated to preserving the legacy of the World War II generation.
Flyover Returns After Last Year's Shutdown Scrub
The 129th Rescue Squadron is scheduled to conduct a flyover during this year's festivities, a moment that didn't happen in 2025. The squadron stood down during last year's parade because of the federal government shutdown, the Mercury News reports, making this year's planned flyover a notable return for organizers and spectators alike.
San Jose has billed its Veterans Day parade as the largest such celebration on the West Coast, and the event has deep local roots: according to Mommy Poppins, it has been produced each year since 1919 with support from the City of San Jose, Santa Clara County and numerous individuals and organizations. The celebration honoring veterans dates to 1918 in San Jose and is normally held every Nov. 11, though the event went virtual in 2020 during the pandemic.
A Parade That Nearly Didn't Happen in 2024
The milestone this year follows a close call two years ago, when San Jose's Veterans Day event was saved by a last-minute fundraising drive led by Mayor Matt Mahan. In the fall of 2024, organizers had not raised enough money to put on that year's parade, according to the Mercury News, which at the time described the event as a 106-year tradition and the largest such celebration in Northern California.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Ray Watts assembled a team to close an estimated $80,000 funding gap, the Mercury News reported. Donations poured in from the Brandenburg Family Foundation, which gave $15,000, along with DEVCON Construction, which contributed $20,000, and PG&E, which added $25,000. By mid-October 2024, organizers confirmed the fundraising campaign had brought in more than enough to ensure the downtown ceremony and parade would take place as planned. Whether similar fundraising challenges have shaped this year's event has not been detailed in current reporting, but the parade's survival in 2024 remains part of its recent history as it marks its 108th year on the streets of downtown San Jose.
