Blackwell Will Celebrate Veterans Day With the Annual Parade Thursday Morning

Blackwell, Okla.-

The City of Blackwell will celebrate Veterans Day with the annual parade Thursday at 11 a.m. on Main Street. The line-up for the parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Blackwell CO-OP, 410 N. Main St.

The OIDAR Amateur Radio Club will assist with the setup. Blackwell Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2855 will host its bean feed immediately after the parade at the VFW building, 1006 W. Ferguson Ave.

The parade marshal this year is Staff Sgt. Mike Richmond of the Oklahoma National Guard.

Richmond was born and raised in Blackwell.

He served three years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1970 with the 299 Combat Engineers on the Cambodian Border in a locale called Dak To.

When he returned home, Richmond went into the Oklahoma National Guard for more than 18 years.

Now retired, Richmond lives in Ponca City and says the thing he loves the most is spending time with his grandchildren, Jaxen and Camryn.

He is a member of the VFW and the Disabled American Veterans organization.