OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Hundreds of people lined the streets for the annual Duck Fourth of July Parade on Friday that has been going for more than 15 years. The towns of Duck and Corolla both hosted their Independence Day celebrations on July 3.
"I am a veteran, and I have a jeep that I set up honoring the submarine that I rode on," said Tom Lewis, a veteran who was in the parade this year.
Lewis talked about how he heard about the parade and came up from Frisco just to be here. Lewis served on the USS Narwhal from 1982-1988 and shared what it means to him to be a veteran.
"It wasn't until years after I served that I realized what I did. Now I really honor that and really cherish that," said Lewis.
The Town of Duck was excited to host another year of their parade, which is the largest put on for the Fourth of July holiday. The town's community engagement coordinator Betsy Trimble said this year is not only special because of our country's 250th anniversary, but because of the number of veterans participating.
"The best thing is, we have more veterans this year to lead the parade than we have in the past, and that warms my heart completely. Because that's really the reason we can celebrate this 250 at all, is because of their service and their sacrifice," said Trimble.
News 3 also ran into David Naghshineh, a veteran who served for eight years and who was with the Colony by the Sea crew in the parade this year. We spoke to him about what it means to be here in a historic year for our country.
"I've been all over the world, I'm so glad I was born here and raised here and I'm an American. Look at all the people here, all the decorations, everyone's put so much work into celebrating our 250th year," said Naghshineh.
News 3 then made its way up to Corolla for the Northern Outer Banks annual Independence Day celebration that has been going on for more than 20 years. That's where we found Justin Partin, who has been coming here for years and builds his vacation around the Fourth of July.
"Especially this year, with it being the 250th anniversary of America. It means a lot to us," said Partin.
Partin and fellow families shared what the historic year means to them.
"We're all very proud Americans here. We love America, and it means a lot. It's an awesome anniversary here," said Partin.
The Northern Outer Banks Tourism Director Tameron Kugler wanted our neighbors and visitors to know that keeping this tradition going each year is all for them. The celebration included hours of live music, vendors, games and an exciting fireworks show.
"This is a way for us to say thank you. Thank you to our visitors for coming, thank them for putting up with traffic, thank them for coming back year after year. 20% of the people you see on the beach in Corolla every year have been here 20 years or more," said Kugler.
Kugler hopes that each person takes home with them a number of feelings.
"Patriotism, being in a beautiful place, feeling like it's home and taking that memory back home with them," said Kugler.
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