MELISSA JARBOE
  • Home
  • Sacrificed Book
  • About
  • News
  • Awards & Accolades
  • Get involved
    • Topeka Veterans Parade
  • Store

Melissa Jarboe

Founder & CEO Military Veteran Project | Activist | Author SACRIFICED | Mother | Lover of life |

vETERANS pARADE dRAWS tHOUSANDS TO dOWNTOWN tOPEKA

11/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Veterans Day Parade draws thousands to downtown TopekaMotorcycles, classic cars, bands take part in eventPosted: November 8, 2014 - 5:20pm
  • Photos
Back | Next ANN MARIE BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNALSeveral branches of the military and different agencies and organizations took part in the second annual Topeka Veterans Day Parade on Saturday in downtown Topeka. Back | Next ANN MARIE BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNALRetired Brig. Gen. Deborah Rose served as the Grand Marshal for the second annual Veterans Day parade in downtown Topeka on Saturday. Back | Next ANN MARIE BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNALJaime Davis and her son, Ryker Davis, 2, were excited to walk in this year's Topeka Veterans Day Parade on Saturday in downtown Topeka. Back | Next ANN MARIE BUSH/THE CAPITAL-JOURNALTeresa O'Neal, right, watches the second annual Topeka Veterans Day Parade on Saturday morning in downtown Topeka with her parents, Frank and Dorothy Ciak, of Topeka. Frank Ciak spent 25 years in the Air Force and served in Korea and Vietnam.   Related Stories
  • Topeka-area Veterans Day activities include Rose address
  • Kansans mark Veterans Day
  • Kansas politicians salute Veterans Day
  • KHP superintendent named grand marshal of Topeka Veterans Day Parade
  • Update: Topeka's Veterans Day parade, other events detailed

By Ann Marie Bush ann.bush@cjonline.com Teresa O’Neal grasped her father’s hand in hers Saturday, and together they cheered as veterans from all branches of service strode by at S.W. 8th and Harrison as part of the second annual Veterans Day Parade.

O’Neal’s mother, Dorothy Ciak, of Topeka, sat next to them as American flags flapped in the chilly breeze.

“Thank you for your service,” O’Neal called out to a woman in uniform passing by in the parade.

The woman smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

O’Neal’s father, Frank Ciak, is a veteran, having spent about 25 years in the Air Force.

“I like to appreciate this wonderful group of people who are taking care of us,” O’Neal said.

The Ciaks were married in 1955 and raised three children.

O’Neal’s husband spent three years in the Air Force, and the couple’s son, Aaron O’Neal, is serving in the Air Force and is stationed in California.

For more than 30 minutes, O’Neal and the Ciaks watched as bands playing patriotic music marched by, classic cars and motorcycles drove past and children collected candy.

Jaime Davis and her son, Ryker Davis, 2, were excited to be marching alongside Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center vehicles. “It’s an awesome opportunity to remember and honor the men and women who have served our country and have given us all of the freedoms we enjoy today,” Davis said.

This year’s parade kicked off in downtown Topeka at 11 a.m.

Retired Brig. Gen. Deborah Rose, who in 2007 became the first woman to ascend to that position in the Kansas National Guard, served as Saturday’s Grand Marshal.

Deputy police chief Tony Kirk participated in this year’s event by riding in a car toward the front of the parade. Kirk’s military service started in the 1980s when he joined the Marine Corps Reserve. He took a break from service but joined the Kansas Army National Guard in 2001. He is a Gulf War veteran, and he recently spent one year in Djibouti, Africa.

“It is phenomenal,” he said of the parade. “The outpouring of support you get as a military person is overwhelming.”

Several area marching bands performed in the parade. Nine members of Highland Park High School’s dance team danced along and cheered as Topeka High School and HPHS bands played patriotic music.

Cooler temperatures didn’t keep HPHS dance team members Zora Green and Kiana Martin away.

“I’ve got my sweater,” Green said with a smile.

The weather didn’t deter attendees either. Thousands lined the streets around the Statehouse.

Melissa Jarboe, organizer of the event, said she didn’t have a finalized number of people watching, but she was happy with Saturday’s parade.

There were 389 entries, and about 2,800 people took part in the Veterans Day Parade. More than 75 volunteers also helped along the route.

Jarboe’s husband, Army Staff Sgt. Jamie Jarboe, died in 2012 from complications after he was seriously wounded by a sniper’s bullet in Afghanistan.

Members of Jamie Jarboe’s former unit, the 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Riley, took part in Saturday’s parade.

“At the end of the parade, I went and sat at the steps of the Capitol,” Melissa Jarboe said. “I think he (Jamie) would be so proud and honored. It was a peaceful moment.”

But the work for Melissa Jarboe and others doesn’t stop. While Jarboe planned on taking a nap Saturday afternoon, planning already is under way for next year’s event.

“We’ll begin taking registrations for next year’s parade on Monday,” she said.



Ann Marie Bush can be reached at (785) 295-1207 or ann.bush@cjonline.com.
Follow Ann Marie on Twitter @AnnieScribe.

  • Share on print
  • Share on email
  • More Sharing Services
  • Share on twitter
  • Share on facebook

0 Comments

WASHBURN INVITED COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE, HONOR VETERANS

11/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
November 2014 News Releases
  • Washburn invites community to celebrate, remember veterans
  • The GIFT of GIVING back is the theme for the Giving Tree Project 2014
  • Masters of the Mulvane: Ninety Years of Collecting to open at art museum
  • Ichabods collect 14,000 cans for Topeka community in competition
  • Wanted: Trombone players to participate in premier celebration
  • Festive array at Celebration of Culture at Washburn University
  • Washburn students to open on-campus food pantry Nov. 17
  • Finalists selected in Nall Speak Off at Washburn University
  • Washburn University Toys for Tots drive planning big day Dec. 6
  • Washburn students into Phi Kappa Phi national honor society
  • Student from Leavenworth County among finalists in elevator pitch competition at Washburn University
  • Student from Lecompton among finalists in elevator pitch competition at Washburn University
  • Student from Olathe among finalists in elevator pitch competition at Washburn University
  • Student from Silver Lake among finalists in elevator pitch competition at Washburn University
  • Valley Falls High team earns first place honors at Math Day event at Washburn
  • Silver Lake High team earns second place honors at Math Day event at Washburn
  • Olathe South team bring home a variety of top honors from annual Math Day event at Washburn
  • High school students win Math Day honors at Washburn University
  • Students from Maur Hill Mount Academy win awards at Math Day event at Washburn


    • News
    • 2014 News Releases
    • November 2014 News Releases
  • ...
  • News
  • 2014 News Releases
  • November 2014 News Releases
  • Washburn invites community to celebrate, remember veterans
Washburn invites community to celebrate, remember veteransMelissa Jarboe, executive director for Military Veteran Project, will be guest speaker at the 27th annual Veterans Day Ceremony at Washburn University set for 11:40 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 11. The event will be at the Vietnam Memorial at the corner of 19th and Mulvane streets on the campus.

The event will begin with a cleansing and blessing of the memorial by Standing Bear Intertribal Brotherhood and conclude with a reception and exhibits in the Washburn Room lounge at the Memorial Union following the ceremony. Performances are also planned by the Marine Corps JROTC of Topeka High and the Washburn Rural High band. Community members as well as Washburn students, faculty and staff members are encouraged to attend.

Nov. 11 has been recognized as a day to honor veterans since 1919. The armistice -- a cease fire -- that stopped the fighting in World War I went into effect on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Nov. 11 became a federal holiday in 1938. It was celebrated as Armistice Day until 1954, when it was renamed by Congress as Veterans Day to honor all of those who have served.

For information about the commemoration at Washburn, call the Washburn Office of Student Services at 785.670.1629.

-30-

0 Comments

    Author

    My name is Melissa Jarboe, military spouse, wounded warrior wife and war widow. Today and everyday moving forward, I will honor the sacrifice of our men and women who selflessly serve our nation.

    Archives

    February 2017
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    Afghanistan
    Congress
    Fort Riley
    Military
    Retirement
    Senate
    Valentines Day

    RSS Feed

1 veteran dies by suicide every 65 minutes. Estimating that
22 veterans a day loses their battle to suicide. We are on a mission to change
​that. Here's how.


Telephone

785.409.1310
Website
www.militaryveteranproject.org
Join our mission of military suicide prevention today!
  • Home
  • Sacrificed Book
  • About
  • News
  • Awards & Accolades
  • Get involved
    • Topeka Veterans Parade
  • Store