LAS CRUCES – Two World War II veterans and 12 Korean War veterans were honored as Grand Marshals of Las Cruces’ 26th Annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday November 6th and received engraved medals from area military officials.
The theme of the 2021 parade was “Honoring Our Korean War Veterans”.
The Korean War was fought between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The northern peninsula was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while the southern peninsula was supported by western countries, including the US, in the US
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In the past, only two Grand Marshals were honored at the Las Cruces Parade, but exceptions have been made this year as the 2020 parade was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14 medals were presented on the parade stage at 9.30 a.m. Grand Marshals include:
- Santos Alderete (World War II)
- Carlos Armendariz
- Christobal Chavez
- Critt Coburn
- Jeronimo Del Bozque
- Henry Diaz
- Jose S. Enriquez
- Edward Gamboa
- George George
- Kirby Prickett
- Paul Roach (Korean prisoner of war)
- Sam Serna
- William Slobojan (WWII era)
- Charles Spicka
Medal winners included the Mayor of Las Cruces, Ken Miyagishima; Brigadier General Eric Little, White Sands Missile Range Post Commander; Col. James Brady, Fort Bliss Garrison Commander; WSMR Command Sergeant Major Jose Melendez and Retired Brigadier General Fermin Rubio.
“It is a great privilege that we are honoring the veterans who came before us,” said Brady, a US Army veteran. “We look back on those wars – World War II, Korea – they were very difficult missions … Since then they have given our community.”
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Aaron Henry Diaz, the grandson of Korean War veteran and former sheriff Henry Diaz, said it was important to him to be there on Saturday morning for his grandfather’s recognition.
“Grandfather, he said pretty much, ‘Who am I? I’m just a Navy man, ‘”Diaz said. “A lot of these heroes have a lot of human humility and they don’t feel like they deserve the honor they are getting, and that is even more reason to educate and inspire and honor them.”
He added that Las Cruces and the state of New Mexico have a great culture of honoring veterans who make up a large part of the community as a whole.
Paul Roach, a veteran and prisoner of war of the Korean conflict, was a recognized veteran on Saturday. He said it was a “very great honor” to be one of the Grand Marshals this year and that he was glad that there were still so many veterans who served in the 1950s conflict.
“Every time these guys get together there is a twinkle, a twinkle that comes back in their eyes. And that’s great to see too, ”said Diaz. “These people are in their golden years and deserve these golden moments.”
Leah Romero is the trend reporter for Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached on Twitter at 575-418-3442, [email protected] or @rromero_leah.
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