James C. Roberts, founder and president of the American Veterans Center which hosts the annual National Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C., is excited this year for the Desert Storm veterans, who will be commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War.
"We expect at least 500 Desert Storm veterans to attend the event," said Roberts in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon. That is an accomplishment—due to the Gulf War being a brief conflict, gathering large numbers of Desert Storm veterans in one place is a challenge, according to Roberts.
To help commemorate the anniversary, the Kuwaiti embassy will be providing a float, and several allied nations involved in the Gulf War will have their flag bearers march in the parade as well. Scott Stump, Gulf War veteran and CEO of the National Desert Storm Memorial Association, helped coordinate the international involvement in the parade.
Additionally, on Sunday before the parade, the Kennedy Center will host the Air Force orchestra, accompanied by a choir of three to four hundred high school students. Roberts said that approximately 350 Desert Storm veterans and their families will attend the concert.
The parade, which transverses along Constitution Avenue, starts with icons from America’s early conflicts and progresses in chronological order until the World War II veterans arrive—the oldest generation of American veterans still living—until it ends with veterans from America’s most recent conflicts, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
"It is a tremendous privilege to be able to talk to and interact with so many American heroes," Roberts said. "I think they have done more for me than I have done for them."
Roberts said he feels especially honored that he was able to meet two of the last five World War I veterans before they died, and said he was always enthralled by their stories from the war.
The 2016 National Memorial Day Parade will be televised on REELZ, around the world on the American Forces Network, on News Channel 8 in Washington, and streamed on Military.com.