Aurora to honor veterans for serving our country and community

The Aurora community will salute heroes on Veterans Day who bravely served our country and returned home to continue serving in many ways throughout the community.

With the theme "Serving Our Country, Serving Our Community," the annual Aurora Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony will begin at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11, in downtown Aurora.

The parade - which steps off at Benton and Water Street, traveling north to Downer Place and then west on Downer Place - features a variety of units, including local veterans' organizations, public safety units, community organizations, and youth groups such as Lincoln's Challenge Drill Team and the award-winning East Aurora NJROTC.

The parade will conclude at the GAR Memorial Hall, 23 E. Downer Place, where veterans, parade participants, and guests will convene for a tribute ceremony.

The Veterans Day ceremony will feature remarks by special guest speaker Pastor Talaat McNeely, whose life took a profound turn when he decided to serve his country in the United States Army.

McNeely's military career was marked by 12 years of dedicated service, where he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. His journey in the armed forces included deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which he served with honor and distinction as a member of the 2/5 Cavalry Regiment within the 1st Cavalry Division, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

This chapter of his life forged his character and instilled in him the values of discipline, teamwork, and the importance of a strong work ethic.

McNeely is now pastor of Purpose City Church in Aurora and serves as an Aurora police chaplain.

The ceremony will also include tributes to veterans from Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin, an Army veteran, and various leaders, a roll-call of military branches, a presentation of awards, and a military 21-gun salute on the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month to commemorate the armistice agreement that ended World War I.