One of the largest Veterans Day parades in the United States of America takes place right up the street from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Auburn, Washington.

"The Auburn Veterans Day Parade offers an opportunity for the entire community to come out and show support, gratitude and thanks to each and every individual who served in our Armed Forces," said Alfie Alvarado-Ramos, director Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.

This year marks the 50th year for the Auburn Veterans Day Parade, a parade that focuses on honoring this Nation's veterans and active-duty military personnel.

Although this year was a wet one, the rain didn't stop thousands from still showing their support to the veterans that serve (have served) this Nation.

However, the parade doesn't only pay tribute to the servicemembers.

The parade also features and allows dozens of congressionally-recognized Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) and their auxiliaries, as well as the active-duty, Washington National Guard and reserve units, to march in the veterans parade down the historic Main Street of downtown Auburn.

The parade was held Saturday, Nov. 7 in downtown Auburn with more than 200 units and 5,500 parade participants, including over 25 high school marching bands, dozens of military vehicles (old & new), dozens of Veterans Service Organizations, multiple Honor Guard units and more.

Although the veterans marching down the mile-strip are the focal point for the parade, the 20,000 plus attendees have numerous opportunities to learn more about veterans' history from more than just the boots marching down the pavement of downtown Auburn.

It may be called the Auburn Veterans Day Parade, but the entire day is filled with various events for the general public, such as the American Legion Breakfast, Vietnam Veterans Social, various military exhibits on display, resource providers available with their military-assisting services, a Lighting of the Flame & Remembrance Ceremony, and even a Curb Competition for all those organizations that want to compete, but don‘t meet the regulations for being an actual marching group.

After the parade, the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) annually hands out service awards for the previous year to nominated individuals/groups that provide beneficial services to the military community.

"The Auburn Veterans Day Parade provides a public opportunity for the Governor's Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee and WDVA to recognize and honor those veterans and veteran advocates receiving the ‘Outstanding Service to Veterans' Awards," said Alvarado-Ramos.  "We're thankful for the support from the Auburn Noon Lions to make the award presentations possible during their annual luncheon."

Several Washington residents were honored on Saturday with Outstanding Service to Veterans Awards for their contributions to Washington state's veterans and their families during the past year.

The 2015 WDVA Outstanding Service to veterans are:

Donna Lowery

Sharon Kirkpatrick

Senator Christine Rolfes

Representative Dick Muri

Mark Oravsky

Kristine Reeves

Jason Alves

Eliseo "Joe" Dumlao

The awards, presented during the Auburn Veterans Day Parade luncheon, are co-sponsored every year by the Governor's Veteran Affairs Advisory Committee (VAAC) and the WDVA.

Along with entertaining, showcasing and awarding veterans for their service, the Auburn Veterans Day Parade, as a whole, is an entire-family fun type of event that has important meaning behind it and helps to showcase the appreciation towards the military that this community shares.