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Leonardtown’s Annual Veteran’s Day Parade will be getting special national attention this year. The parade has been approved for inclusion on a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website that touts Veteran’s Day parades all across the country.

This year there will be 62 parades listed nationwide. Leonardtown’s parade will be the only one listed from the state of Maryland. It has been said that Leonardtown’s parade is the largest in the state. The 2011 parade was the 36th annual one, with thousands of spectators viewing thousands of parade participants followed by a patriotic ceremony on the town square.

Town Administrator Laschelle McKay said the town was encouraged to apply for the national recognition by Maryland Secretary of Veterans Affairs Edward Chow, who attended last year’s event and was impressed with it.

The designation of a Veteran’s Day Regional Site by the Veteran’s Day National Committee came recently and was announced at the Leonardtown Town Council meeting on August 13. President Eisenhower formed the national committee in 1954 to plan and promote Veteran’s Day observances nationally. Today the committee is administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and is comprised of representatives of 44 veteran’s organizations. It is chaired by Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs Eric Shinseki.

The list of parades has not been updated for this year yet, but will be shortly and Leonardtown will be included on the list. The list is available for viewing at the following website: http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/regsites.asp