Crowds honor veterans at 40th annual Loyalty Day Parade in Batavia

Grand Marshal Cliff Bartelt of Geneva waved to crowds along the 40th annual Loyalty Day Parade route Sunday afternoon on Wilson Street in Batavia.

Sitting atop a red Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible, Bartelt smiled wide, sometimes waving simultaneously with both hands, as a band played patriotic music on the corner of the route's halfway point.

The annual parade was sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1197, of which Bartelt has been a member of since 1969. He's also been a part of every single Loyalty Day parade, serving as the captain of the Honor Guard since the yearly tradition began four decades ago.

A 1965 West Aurora graduate, he started serving in the Air Force two months after graduation. He was stationed in the U.S. for a bit, then sent to Taiwan, Thailand and then Vietnam in 1967-68. After finishing his military service, he went on to serve as a police officer in Aurora for 31 years.

"It means a lot, I'm very happy," he said of being chosen as parade marshal. "It's an honor."

As 100 floats made their way down the route, Korean War veteran Arnold Bochum of Elgin sat in a folding chair at the corner of Route 25 and Wilson Street taking in the sights. A member of South Elgin VFW Post 2327, Bochum has watched the parade from the same spot for the past 10 years. He even had a small plastic bag hanging from his chair, filled with pieces of candy he gathered for a neighbor's child.

For more information on the Batavia Post 1197, visit bataviavfw.org.