Calling all veterans! Push puts new life in July 4th parade

Every year, Weiser honors its military veterans at the Fourth of July parade. 

 And every year, the line marching down State St. gets a little shorter.

 City officials and local citizens aim to change that this year and return the parade to its former glory as Weiser gears up for America’s 250th birthday in 2026. 

 “Every vet we can get,” City Councilman Herb Haun said. “We’d love to have a full squadron.” 

 Veterans are welcome to report to the historic Weiser Train Depot at 11 a.m. July 4 for this year’s march and flag ceremony followed by a free community barbecue at Memorial Park. 

 City Clerk Natasha McDaniel urged citizens, especially kids, to literally get behind the veterans in the parade. 

 “Decorate your bikes, decorate your dogs, decorate everything,” she said. 

 A fixture of the city calendar, the parade has dwindled alongside the ranks of those who served in World War II, Korea and even Vietnam. Despite no shortage of conflicts, the next generation of veterans just have not replaced them. 

 “I can’t believe they don’t have a bigger turnout...This town has so many vets,” said Stanton Seitz, an Army and Army National Guard veteran who moved to Weiser five years ago to a neighborhood full of fellow service members. 

 Like the rest of rural America, Weiser tends to have more veterans per capita than most places, but nationally, the small-town veteran parade keeps fading. 

 Seitz, who grew up in Idaho, said younger veterans seem to have a different relationship with their service than previous generations. Pride has declined, he argued, as patriotism and knowledge of American history have dwindled around service members.

 “We’re not getting into politics,” Seitz said, thinking back to his time in uniform after Sept. 11, 2001. “We’re just talking patriotism.”

 The Fourth of July parade offers a chance to not only preserve history, he argued, but remind the public what he learned on duty.

 “You really appreciate what we have in this country and the freedoms that we have,” Seitz said. “That’s why we need to bring this back.”

 The parade will run from the train depot to Veteran’s Park for a flag ceremony overseen by Weiser resident and veteran Joe Malay.

 After the ceremony, residents can head over to Memorial Park for a barbecue courtesy of donations from Ridley’s Family Market and the LOR Foundation. 

 “It would be nice to showcase what we’ve done with the park,” Haun said. 

 Food will be served beneath the park’s new overhang while residents can sign up for a cornhole tournament on new permanent boards, play pickleball on freshly painted courts or enjoy the new playground equipment.

 “Next year,” McDaniel said, “we’re going to make this huge.”