The City of Aurora and the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council will host the annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017.

The parade will step off at 10:15 a.m. from the corner of Broadway and Benton Street, and will travel north on Broadway, then west on Downer Place to the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, 23 E. Downer, where the ceremony will take place.

Lt. Lauren Carthan

During the ceremony, Mayor Richard C. Irvin and other dignitaries will pay tribute to veterans, and a special a military rifle salute will commence at 11:11 a.m.

The 2017 Keynote Speaker is Lt. Lauren Carthan, Senior Naval Science Instructor of the East Aurora Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.

A 22-year Navy veteran, Carthan enlisted in the United States Navy in 1987 and was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 2000. She served in a number of capacities throughout the country, including Officer in Charge of the Officer Recruiting Program in Indiana and Deputy Director of Dental at the Naval Hospital at Great Lakes, prior to being deployed to Afghanistan in 2007. While on that tour of duty, her primary job was to assist in developing a tracking system for military members injured on the battlefield.

After retiring from the military with an Honorable Discharge, Lieutenant Carthan was hired in 2011 as the first female NJROTC Instructor at East Aurora High School. In 2015, she was named the Senior Naval Science Instructor of the East Aurora NJROTC, the largest unit in the country.

The parade line-up includes active and retired military personnel, local and regional veterans’ organizations, public safety personnel, a community chorus, marching bands, ROTC units and many special guests.

Immediately following the parade and ceremony, the award-winning historic G.A.R. Memorial Hall will be open for tours.

The parade, ceremony, and tours are all free and open to public.

About The City of Aurora

Located 35 miles west of Chicago, Aurora is the second largest city in Illinois with a population of 200,456.  Aurora is known as the “City of Lights” because it was one of the first in the nation to illuminate its streets with electric lights.  Situated along the Fox River and the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (Interstate 88), the city extends 46 square miles encompassing Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. Aurora also is home to six public school districts and seven townships. For the latest news, access to an archive of past news releases or to follow the city on Facebook or Twitter, visit the city’s website at www.aurora-il.org.