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VETERANS DAY PARADE WITHOUT MARCHERS WE CAN’T MARCH Whether you served in Iraq/Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, WWII or any other era, if you are proud of your service and proud of being Gay, we want you to march with us in the Veterans Day Parade. We are America’s LGBTQ veterans’ service organization, AVER –American Veterans For Equal Rights ; jointly marching with Transgender American Veterans Association. Since 1990 we have fought for the right to serve and for full and equal veterans’ benefits for LGBT veterans. Since 1990 we have fought for the right to serve and for full and equal veterans’ benefits for LGBT veterans. In the Gay Pride Parade, we are often the only group proudly carrying an American flag. In the Veterans Day Parade, we are the only group proudly carrying a Rainbow flag! We carry both, along with the POW/MIA flag. We want you to help carry our flags, in pride, along with our LGBT Veterans banner and our Transgender veterans’ banner. We are You. When we march, people cheer like crazy and shout “thank you for serving!” As people who never got thanks for our sacrifice, it gives us goose bumps to hear it at last. If its important, now, for us to be seen marching in pride of our service and of who we are, then decide to march this year with AVER/TAVA in the New York City Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11th. If you think someone else is going to do it for you, its not going to happen. Without marchers, we just can’t march. In 2003 we had over 30 marchers with a full color guard of flags. In 2006 we had a block long contingent. We haven’t marched for 3 years now, because everyone decided to let someone else do it. It didn’t happen. Without marchers, we can’t march. In 2003, a 78 year old friend who served in Korea in 1953, flew up to New York to march with us in Pride. On every block, as we came into view, 10,000 people started clapping and shouting “thank you for serving!” It was thunderous! My friend, a Marine with more guts than anyone I’ve ever known, started to cry. Thinking he was having a heart attack, I panicked and asked him what was the matter, what was wrong. Crying uncontrollably, he said, “NO ONE, no one ever thanked me before for being a gay veteran and serving in combat in the freezing hell of Korea.” He’d waited 50 years! He can’t march with us anymore now. We want you to march with us in honor of your service and his. We need marchers to carry our flags and banners. We need a volunteer with a car to drive our gay disabled veterans in the parade. If we don’t march, no one will notice our absence. If we DO march, we will be noticed and cheered by thousands. To march with AVER-NY, you have to be a gay patriotic veteran proud of your service. Or you can be a proud patriotic partner, parent, brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend, proud of your veteran’s service. We march in pride, no politics, no protests, no shouting, no signs, just our flags and LGBT banners and holding our heads high. Do you qualify? Call or email us today and commit to march in Pride in the NYC Veterans Day Parade with us on Nov 11th. We need your name, phone number and email address. You MUST sign up in advance to march with us. Call AVER-NY at 718 849-5665 or email us at averny@nyc.rr.com What to wear to march with AVER-NY in the Veterans Day Parade: We wear neat age appropriate casual clothing, male or female; nothing wild or outrageous, nor half naked, this is the Veterans Day Parade, we will be in the middle of thousands of uniformed active duty personnel and reservists, they wont stand for it. Transgender veterans are welcome and encouraged to join us. As a veteran, you can wear YOUR uniform, IF it is complete and inspectable! It must pass inspection by Denny Meyer, fmr SFC USAR. No half assed half uniforms, washed out, too tight, and tattered, forget it. We will be in the middle of thousands of uniformed active duty and reserve personnel, they wont stand for it! You are encouraged to wear your military medals, ribbons, and badges, on your civilian clothing or properly placed on you uniform. |
