November 1st was the 38th Annual Veterans Day Parade in Universal City, Texas. (Universal City is on the NE edge of San Antonio, near IH-35 and Loop 1604.) Normally, this parade is over in about 90 minutes or less, but this year it went for over 2 hours. There were only about 50 registered entries this year, but it was still a very nice parade. 
It started around 10:30am and ended after 12:30pm. Pat Booker Road was shut down, almost military law or forced evacuation except for everyone lining the streets on foot.
We had better than usual ham radio coverage this year, with close to 30 hams and motorcycle marshals, plus a half dozen Citizens Police Academy (CPA) volunteers.
Our volunteers were stationed along the 2 mile route down Pat Booker Road, from UC Blvd to Byrd Ave (almost to Randolph AFB) .
Three of the motorcycle marshals were used to ride escort at the start of the parade in front of the police and color guard. Others were stationed at entrances to parking lots or cross streets to supplement the hams and CPA volunteers. Some M&M’s brought up the rear (turtle position) of the parade, and a few others roamed up and down the route watching for problems.
We had lots of support and cooperation from the UC Police Department, probably the best interaction between them and us that we’ve had in a long time, and that’s saying something, cause this police department rolls out the red carpet each year for us, extending all courtesies, plus a few dozen free donuts, coffee and orange juice..
The parade got off to a slower than normal start, waiting for a band to get lined up (they never did) and traffic on Pat Booker to be cleared (which it was).
Then just as the front units of the parade got down to the reviewing stand where I was located, it halted.
The parade was stopped for over 25 minutes while politicians made speeches and gave a proclamation to 
Corporal Travis Dodson, US Marine Corps, who was injured in Iraq. (See more on Corporal Dodson at his own website here.)
The Universal City Council declared today to be “Corporal Dodson Day” and made him an honorary citizen of Universal City.
I took some photos of him (see above) while he was riding in the parade and then being greeted by public officials at the reviewing stand.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated what they were doing for him after his sacrifice in our country’s service, but stopping the parade for that long without letting the participants know what was happening, was simply not cool in my book. Temperature was in the upper 70’s and no clouds to speak of, so the parade participants had to stand on the hot pavement in the middle of the street with no shade, waiting for something to happen.
Once the politicians ran out of things to say, the parade started back up around 11:30am and the tail end (turtle) finished a bit after 12:30pm. After the parade, many of our volunteers went to a nearby restaurant for some food and fellowship.
Our ham volunteers came from all over, including REACT, AARO, SARC, SARO, Unusual Suspects, and the Motorcycle Marshals (group that does Bike to the Beach & Tour de Cure) .
Here are some more of my photos taken today. Click on thumbnails for larger view
