102-year-old World War II veteran belts out national anthem at Maryland parade
A 102-year-old military veteran sang the national anthem on Sunday at a Veterans Day Parade in Frederick County, Maryland.
World War II veteran Wilbur "Jack" Myers kicked off the 93rd annual Brunswick Veterans Day Parade with a sterling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
The Brunswick Veterans Day Parade is one of the oldest Veterans Day celebrations in the country, according to event organizers.
Myers' historical impact
Myers was a U.S. Army Corporal while serving during World War II. He was a gunner in the 1st platoon, Company B, 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion.
According to his profile, Myers arrived in France in September 1944 and then went to the Netherlands to support the 104th Division and British forces in the Battle of Antwerp.
Later that year, he was fighting in the Ardennes region as part of the Battle of the Bulge.
In 1945, the 692nd crossed the Rhine River and advanced across Germany, arriving in Munich by April. Cpl. Myers earned a Bronze Star.
Myers and the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion were attached to the 42nd, 63rd, and 104th Infantry divisions during World War II, and they were also involved in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp when attached to the 42nd Infantry Division, according to The Best Defense Foundation.
In 2014, Myers returned to Europe to commemorate the 70th anniversary of "D-Day," when allies invaded Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, according to several publications.
Baltimore's Veterans Day Parade
The annual Baltimore City Veterans Day Parade took place on Saturday, beginning at the Washington Monument in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.
The parade featured a slew of military-supporting organizations, ROTC programs, and marching bands. WJZ was the proud media sponsor.
WJZ featured the Baltimore City College Marching Knights, who performed behind band director Jaylin Jackson.
"Typically, we go through the patriotic parade sequence, which has like three different songs, one including America the Beautiful," Jackson said.
The Grand Marshal of the Baltimore parade was Retired Army General Larry Ellis, a native of Cambridge, Maryland, and the first African-American four-star general to have graduated from Morgan State University.
Over the course of his career in the U.S. Army, Ellis held leadership roles at every level across the globe, including South Korea, Europe, and even in the classroom.
"So the Army sent me to Indiana to get a master's degree, to go to West Point, the United States Military Academy, to teach," Ellis said.
Ellis's career took him as far as commanding General of the U.S. Army Forces Command.
"It has responsibility for all of the Army forces in the Continental United States, except for training and special operations," Ellis said.
In 2001, Ellis was promoted to the rank of four-star general, becoming the fourth African-American in the history of the U.S. Army to achieve this distinction.