Annual Events
Veterans Day Parade Maricopa’s 2025 Veterans Day Parade opened with a thunderous tribute as two rare World War II aircraft groups roared over Porter Road. At 9 a.m., the Arizona Stearman Squadron swept in first, flying restored Boeing Stearman biplanes once used to train U.S. Army Air Corps and Navy pilots. Minutes later, spectators looked skyward as the PB4Y-2 Privateer T121, the only airworthy aircraft of its kind, made a rare appearance. The four-engine Navy patrol bomber, later used by the Coast Guard and as a wildfire tanker, was meticulously restored in Phoenix through SAC Holdings and maintained by sponsor Joe Shoen. Below the flyover, hundreds lined the parade route from Bowlin Road to Honeycutt Avenue as veterans, youth groups and civic organizations marched past. Grand marshal Roman Benavente, a retired Army Finance Command Sergeant Major and Province resident, led the procession alongside honorees Steve Day, Craig Houk and Terry Oldfield.
Visit Maricopa Veterans Memorial Park across from Copper Sky Multigen Center. VMP-MaricopaAZ.org
InMaricopa.com | December 2025
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