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2025 Veterans Day Parade 

November 11, 2025

Mission POW-MIA is excited to announce that we have partnered with the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations, and we will be the Co-Marshal of the Virginia Beach Veterans Day Parade, November 11, 2025! 

The parade will highlight the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. 

The parade will be the finale for those attending our member meeting and we will be honoring our POW-MIAs, their families and our Vietnam Veterans by building a float and marching in parade. Come join the over 100 participant organizations and thousands of patriotic Americans watching along the oceanfront route.  

Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Org Annual Veterans Day Luncheon:

Date: Tuesday November 11, 2025 

Time: Noon or immediately following the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial

Place: The Double Tree Hotel 

Price: $30.00 per person

For more information:

Veteran’s Day Parade – HRCVO  

The 2025 Grand Marshal

Mission POW-MIA and HRCVO is pleased to announce this year's 2025 Grand Marshal for the Veterans Day parade in Virginia Beach, Virginia on Nov. 11, 2025.  

Mr. Kelly McKeague began service as the Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) on September 5, 2017. He is responsible for policy, control, and oversight of all aspects of the Department’s program to account for our nation’s missing personnel from past conflicts. He leads DoD’s worldwide enterprise of research, investigation, recovery, and identification operations, and supporting functions, in order to provide the fullest possible accounting of our missing personnel to their families and to the nation.  Prior to his appointment, Mr. McKeague owned and operated a consulting business in Alexandria, Virginia, providing strategic and operational consulting to small-capital corporations seeking to expand business lines and services.  In December 2015, Mr. McKeague culminated a 34-year career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of major general. In his last two assignments, he served as the first Deputy Director of the newly established DPAA, and before that as Commander, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.  After receiving his commission in 1981 through the Georgia Institute of Technology Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program, Mr. McKeague began his military career as a civil engineering officer serving in a variety of assignments at base, major command, and Headquarters U.S. Air Force levels. In 1995, he entered the Maryland Air National Guard and served on active duty as a civil engineer at Air National Guard Readiness Center followed by legislative liaison assignments at the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau. After transitioning to drilling National Guard status, he was the Director of the Joint Staff, Maryland National Guard in Baltimore. He subsequently served as Chief of Staff, National Guard Bureau, then as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters.  He earned numerous awards and decorations commensurate with his distinguished military service. Mr. McKeague received a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Kelly McKeague retired from the Air Force as a Major General in 2015 after 34 years and began Federal Civil Service as a Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in September 2017.

The 2025 Co-Marshal

Mission: POW-MIA and the HRCVO are proud to announce former Vietnam War POW - MICHAEL LEE BRAZELTON, Colonel (ret.)  United States Air Force has been selected as the Co-Marshal for this year's parade.

Colonel Brazelton was born 19 March 1942. His home town is Inglewood, California. He attended the Morningside High School and Northrop Institute of Technology. He has a BS Degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.

He attended Air Force Officer Training School from February 1964 to May 1964; Undergraduate Pilot Training, Reese AFB, Texas from June 1964 to July 1965; F-105 Combat Crew Training at Nellis AFB, Nevada from July 1965 to December 1965. He was assigned to the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, Takhli RTAB, Thailand from January 1966 to August 1966. He accumulated 330 hours of combat flying time. His combat tour in Thailand was his first operational assignment.

Then 1st Lieutenant Brazelton was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery on 7 August 1966 at Thai Nguyen, 39 miles north of Hanoi, on his 111th combat mission. He was captured by North Vietnamese militia and held as a prisoner of war until repatriated in March 1973.

His combat decorations include four Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars with V, eight Air Medals and two Purple Hearts.

Colonel Brazelton’s initial assignment after returning home was to the 64th Fighter Weapons Squadron—the original Aggressor squadron—at Nellis AFB, NV. Subsequent assignments were to Air Force Command & Staff College, the 425th TFTS at Williams AFB, AZ (as an instructor pilot training foreign pilots to fly the Northrop F-5E), and then to Mexico as a program manager and advisor to the Mexican Air Force.

Following two years in Mexico, Colonel Brazelton attended The Industrial College of the Armed Forces before being assigned to HQ/USAF International Sales/Latin American Division at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. He also served two years in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Current Operations (J2), Western Hemisphere Division. He retired from the Air Force out of that position in August 1987 with almost 24 years of service.

In 1989, Colonel Brazelton (ret.) was fortunate enough to be hired by American Airlines as a pilot. Over the next 12 years, he flew as first officer on the B727, MD11, B757 and B767. He retired for a second time as a captain on the B727 in March 2002 at the age of 60.

In addition to his undergraduate degree, Colonel Brazelton has an MBA from the University of Auburn at Montgomery and a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland

Colonel Brazelton was married to Maria Antonietta (born 1963, died 1999) and is the father of three daughters: Adriana, Ashley and Allison. He subsequently remarried his current wife, Gloria. They live in Fairfax, VA.

The Moving Wall

The Moving Wall will be coming to Virginia Beach, VA November 8-11, 2025. 

This will be part of our membership meeting, allowing our POW-MIA families to share the stories of their missing loved ones with the public. 

We are coordinating with the Hampton Roads Council of Veterans Organizations and the City of Virginia Beach to make this visit from the half-size replica a reality!!! https://www.themovingwall.org/

To locate a name on The Moving Wall:

Click either Link to locate the name(s):

Chronological List of Names on the Wall

Names on the Wall Alphabetically  

HRCVO's Mission:

To observe patriotic holidays, ceremonies, celebrations, and programs, through coordination with member organizations in the Hampton Roads area.

To support commemorations and memorials honoring veterans who have honorably served the nation.

To promote love of country and the nation’s flag.

To focus on imbuing patriotism in youth in the Hampton Roads area and beyond.

For more information:

 Veteran’s Day Parade – HRCVO  

Americans In Wartime Experience

Americans in Wartime Experience - Voices of Freedom Project will be available Nov 10 from 12pm to 5 pm at the Virginia Beach Conference Center. They will also be in the parade Nov 11.

The Americans in Wartime Experience explores the impact of war and conflict on America since WWI. It honors those who served in the military and on the home front and highlights the values they demonstrated in serving – duty, honor, and courage. It examines how periods of conflict have profoundly shaped American society. It educates visitors about the costs of war, both on a personal and social level. It challenges visitors to remember the service and sacrifices made by their fellow citizens to preserve and defend our freedoms.  

For more information:

Americans in Wartime Experience  

North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association

The NC Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association will be bringing: 

A Bell UH-1 Iroquois gunship, a Bell UH-1 was used to deploy troops, or medivac wounded hence the nickname of "Slick", and an OH-6 Cayuse Observation Helicopter nicknamed "Loach" for Light Observation Helicopter. will be on static display and staffed by Vietnam Veteran helicopter pilots, Nov 10 from 9am - 5pm.

The North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (NCVHPA) was founded in 1989. The Association's goals are "... to promote and perpetuate the bonds of brotherhood that bind a group of men who have shared and survived an experience fraught with danger, yet filled with the essence of pride and satisfaction." The NCVHPA members endeavor to represent the Vietnam helicopter pilots in an atmosphere of decorum that focuses a light of respect and admiration upon all veterans.

The NCVHPA vision is simply to establish a group of North Carolina veterans who flew helicopters in Vietnam, acquire a few Vietnam era helicopters, restore them, mount them on trailers for transporting to various activities, and unite the aircraft with the experiences of the men who flew them. All members have been verified as Vietnam War helicopter pilots, having thousands of combined combat flying hours. Major commendations awarded these pilots are: Silver Stars, Bronze Stars with V for valor, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals , Purple Hearts, and numerous other awards, the greatest being the honor of serving America and coming home to make contributions to our great Nation. Being the fortunate ones who made it home, we have strived since the beginning of the Association to bring honor to all our brothers and sisters who served in Vietnam, as well as to those others who have served and continue to serve today.

We present a part of living history to the public and to schools. Our display aircraft came directly from the military and they are set up as they would have been flown in Vietnam. All Association members present at each display were helicopter pilots in Vietnam, instilling a personal touch to the event. We are achieving our goal of bringing history to the public in that young and old alike are drawn to our display and both the aircraft and pilots have received overwhelming approval at every event in which they have participated. The public is able to climb into the helicopters and talk with the people who were there and had the experiences, taking advantage of an opportunity that later generations will only read about. We have educated many and helped recruit a new generation of proud veterans. We have brought some understanding to the public of a very difficult time for our Nation, as well as sharing pride with those who wore its uniform.

Over the years NCVHPA has participated in 4th of July events in Philadelphia, Orlando, Huntsville, and Washington, DC. NCVHPA men and helicopters have appeared in numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day events throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. The Association is supported 98 percent by its members. No state or federal funds have been granted for its operation. The Association is an incorporated 501(c) (3) association since 1989.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me,
Shall be my brother..."

For more information:

ncvhpa.com/about.php  

Ghost of the Battlefield 

The Ghost of the Battlefield will have a one vehicle from each conflict, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Desert Storm. The vehicles will be on display and staffed on Nov 10 from 8am- 5pm in front of the Virginia Beach Conference Center. On Nov 11, the vehicles will be in the Veterans Day parade with MIA families. 

Ghost of the Battlefield is a privately owned museum in Virginia Beach, VA, specializing in preserving the military history of the armed forces of the United States. Our mission is to preserve and present the history and heritage of the United States Military. Ghosts of the Battlefield has been collecting, preserving, and displaying historic military artifacts for over 25 years but was officially established in 2022 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information:

Ghosts of the Battlefield