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Rio Rancho celebrates veterans

Veterans Day

Air Force veteran Verne Lucero poses for a picture with his dog Rosita.

Daniel ZunigaRio Rancho Observer Interim Reporter Daniel ZunigaRio Rancho Observer Interim Reporter Daniel ZunigaRio Rancho Observer Interim Reporter Daniel ZunigaRio Rancho Observer Interim Reporter
Published Modified

RIO RANCHO — On Veterans Day, the city of Rio Rancho celebrated their veterans with a parade, a special ceremony and cookout.

It was a special day, and many proud veterans showed up to meet fellow service members and to receive their much-deserved applause.

It began with a parade that started along Southern Boulevard from Country Club Drive to Pinetree Road. The parade featured Boy Scout troops, the Rio Rancho High School marching band, firetrucks and more.

After the parade, the crowd headed to the Veterans Monument Park for a special ceremony that featured many speakers: Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull, Marine veteran Michael Haas, Command Sgt. Maj. Theodore “Ted” Skibyak, Marine veteran Frank Rue and Chaplain Kim Schnepper, just to name a few. Marine veteran Adrian Glass served as the emcee of the event.

“Welcome veterans; thank you for your service. We serve as a brotherhood. I don’t care what branch you are in,” Rue said.

“I’d like to acknowledge all of our veterans, all our military members in the audience at this time,” Hull said. “I also have to recognize the family members of military members that have made a great sacrifice to share your military members with us so they can go out and defend our freedoms.”

Some of the distinguished guests in attendance included Rio Rancho Fire Chief James “Jimmy” DeFillippo, Councilor Bob Tyler, State Reps. Joshua Hernandez and Kathleen Cates, County Commissioner Dave Heil, UFW Commander Rusty Coffee, and retired Maj. Gen. Ken Nava.

Part of the ceremony included the playing of all military service songs. As each song played, veterans of the respective branch stood proudly and sang along.

Military service songs played were from the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Space Force.

“I will say thank you to all of our veterans out here, all the families that support them … Keep an eye on each other. Our service has not ended; keep serving the people around us,” Skibyak said.

After the ceremony, a cookout began at 1 p.m.

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