Virginia City salutes veterans with traditional parade

Virginia City will hold its annual Salute to Veterans on Thursday featuring the Veteran's Day parade.

John Koch, a Virginia City man who served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, will be the grand marshal.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m., in recognition of the date and time the Armistice was signed ending World War I, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th year.

Lineup will begin at

10 a.m. at the Fourth Ward School, 527 S. C St., Virginia City.

A free spaghetti lunch for parade participants will be held at the Storey County Senior Center, E and Mill Streets, following the parade.

Also, all veterans with ID will receive free admission to the Silver State Peace Officer's Museum on B Street.

Koch was born and raised in Texas, but moved to Los Banos, Calif., at 17. He was drafted in 1941 and was assigned to an anti-aircraft 90 mm gun unit in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

Koch participated in the battles of Attu and Kiska, and stayed in Alaska until the end of the war.

Thursday's parade will feature many veterans groups as well as about a half-dozen high school ROTC units and two marching bands, the Carson Middle School Band and the Dayton Intermediate School band.

To enter the parade, call 775-691-5687 for a parade form, or e-mail your entry to comstockwriter@yahoo.com. You also may find an online form at www.VisitVirginia

CityNV.com.

Those entering should include their name, address and phone number and a brief description of their entry for the parade announcers.

To be part of the advance lineup, entries must be received by Nov. 10. However, late entries are welcome and will be placed at the end of the parade.

For overnight accommodations and more information on this and other events happening in Virginia City, log on to www.VisitVirginia

CityNV.com or call the Virginia City Visitor Center at 775-847-4FUN (4386) or 800-718-SLVR (7587).