Veterans Day in Yuma: a parade at 9, a minute at 11 and more than 2,000 names on a wall

The time is the whole point.

At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, the guns in Europe went quiet. The armistice that ended the fighting in World War I took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, and the date stuck. In 1954 Congress renamed the holiday Veterans Day, and it became a day for everyone who served.

Yuma has its own way of marking it.

This morning's parade

Two community listings put this year's parade at 9 a.m. Wednesday, starting at 17th Street and Fourth Avenue and heading south on Fourth.

The Saddles of Joy community calendar lists this year's theme as "Standing Proud for Those Who Served." An event listing that names American Legion Post 19 as host says floats line up by 8 a.m., and a barbecue at the post, 2575 S. Virginia Dr., starts serving at noon. Plates are $10, and the main hall closes at 3 p.m., according to that listing.

I haven't seen any of this on the post's own pages. So treat it as the plan, not a promise.

For years the parade has finished at Post 19, where the post holds an "11th Hour" ceremony at 11 a.m. That's how it went last year, KYMA reported, with more than 70 entries. This year's listings don't mention the ceremony either way.

About 14,500 neighbors

Stacker, working from Census Bureau estimates for 2019 through 2023, counted 14,484 veterans in Yuma County. By Stacker's measure that's 9.5 percent, the eighth-highest share among Arizona's 15 counties.

Break it down and it gets personal fast. Roughly 5,100 served during the Vietnam era. About 1,200 in Korea. Close to 7,000 across the two Gulf War periods, including about 3,800 since September 2001.

And the estimate still counts 123 World War II veterans living here.

These are survey estimates, so treat them as close, not exact. The World War II number in particular is small enough to wobble. But even the rough version tells you something about who's standing in line with you at the grocery store.

That count doesn't include the people still serving at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma Proving Ground. Tuesday was the Marine Corps' 251st birthday. In a town with a Marine air station, Nov. 10 and Nov. 11 tend to run together.

More than 2,000 names downtown

If the parade isn't your thing, there's a quieter way to spend the day.

Armed Forces Park, at 291 Gila St. on the site of the old railroad depot, has walls lined with more than 2,000 black granite plaques honoring Yuma-area veterans, according to the city. Each one carries a name, rank, dates of service and a service emblem.

The park started small. When the first plaque went up in October 2002, the committee chairman told MCAS Yuma's newspaper they'd sold 560 so far and had room for about 2,000. They got there.

You can search the plaques by name at armedforcespark.com, and the results tell you the section, row and column. So if you're looking for a grandfather, a neighbor or the guy who used to run the hardware store, you can walk straight to him.

The city now runs the plaque program. A plaque costs $175.

What veterans here have said

The best explanations of this day have come from veterans themselves, on the record.

At last year's parade, Jesse Martinez, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, told KYMA why the day matters for every veteran. "We didn't know what was going to happen," he said, "but we were all there."

Two weeks ago at Armed Forces Park, family and friends unveiled a plaque for Kenneth Metoyer, an 80-year-old former Marine, and his late father, Victor Jones. Asked about the honor, Metoyer told KYMA what stood out was "the fact that everybody came."

Then there's the part of the work most people never see. Post 19's ceremonial team fires the three-volley salute at veterans' funerals. Commander Walt Blakesley told KYMA a member can "rack up 200 or more services" in just a few years on the team.

That's not a parade. That's an ordinary weekday afternoon at a cemetery, again and again.

If you're out today

• City Hall is closed Wednesday and reopens Thursday. Trash and curbside recycling pickup in city limits isn't changing this week, the city said.
• Free meals. The Yuma Sun reported that Bubba's 33 and Golden Corral are offering complimentary meals to veterans and active-duty service members today. Check the restaurant's terms before you go.
• Wellton has its own tradition. The town's VFW post has run a Veterans Day parade for years, and in 2024 AZFamily reported two World War II veterans past 100 riding as grand marshals. I couldn't find this year's details online.
• Saturday, Nov. 14: Military Appreciation Day downtown on Main Street, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and free, according to the Arizona Veterans calendar. Right Turn for Yuma Veterans, the nonprofit that runs transitional housing for homeless and at-risk veterans, is preparing for it, KYMA reported, with information booths and community resources. Earlier this month the group said an anonymous donor furnished every room in its housing with new beds and linens.

If you want one sentence for what the day is for, Kenneth Metoyer already said it in six words.

Where this comes from

• Saddles of Joy: Community events calendar (2026 parade time, start, theme)
• StayHappening: Veteran's Day Parade listing (lists Post 19 as host; lineup, barbecue, hall hours)
• KYMA, Nov. 11, 2025: Locals attend annual Veterans Day Parade in Yuma (2025 route, 11th Hour ceremony, more than 70 entries, Jesse Martinez quote)
• City of Yuma: Armed Forces Park and plaque order form
• Yuma Armed Forces Park: Plaque finder
• MCAS Yuma, Oct. 17, 2002: Yuma park commemorates the efforts of past and present servicemembers
• KYMA: Highlighting American Legion Post 19 in Yuma (ceremonial team, Walt Blakesley quote)
• KYMA, Oct. 23, 2026: Local Marine receives plaque at Armed Forces Park (Kenneth Metoyer quote)
• Stacker via KYMA: Counties with the most veterans in Arizona (Census 2023 five-year estimates)
• City of Yuma, Nov. 4, 2026: City Hall to close in observance of Veterans Day
• Yuma Sun: Veterans Day meals (Bubba's 33, Golden Corral)
• AZFamily, Nov. 11, 2024: 100-year-old veterans honored in Yuma County parade
• KYMA, Nov. 2, 2026: Anonymous donor furnishes every room at Right Turn for Yuma Veterans
• American Legion: Veterans Day (the 1918 armistice)