Soldiers, a Parade, History, and the Castillo

Historic City News readers will receive free admission to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument on Veterans Day, November 11th; one of many planned activities to honor the service of our veterans to our nation.

The Veterans Council of St. Johns County is sponsoring a Veterans Day Military Review parade that will pass the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument at 11:00 a.m. The parade will include historic military vehicles, military units, and some of the Castillo’s living history volunteers.

After the parade, the vehicles and volunteers will make their way to the Castillo, where the vehicles will be on display in the visitor parking lot from approximately 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A timeline of the Castillo’s military history, represented by park volunteers, will include reenactments of the First and Second Spanish periods, the British period, the Civil War Federal Navy, World War I, and World War II.

Please join us to celebrate our nation’s veterans and explore the history of the many flags that have flown over the Castillo and the people who have shaped history from within its coquina walls.

The Castillo de San Marcos will be open from 8:45 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. The parade begins at 10:45 at Francis Field, passing the Castillo from approximately 11:00 a.m. until noon, with the vehicle display and timeline following from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest fortification in the continental United States, a unique specimen of Spanish military architecture and engineering, related cultural resources, and their architectural, political, and social history. Learn more at www.nps.gov/casa and visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/CastilloNPS and Twitter www.twitter.com/CastilloNPS.