Anna Maria honors veterans with parade

The Lakewood Ranch High School’s marching band Nov. 10 plays its way down Pine Avenue during Anna Maria’s annual Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade. The parade began at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, and traveled down Pine Avenue to City Pier Park, 101 N. Bay Blvd., where the city hosted a ceremony to recognize veterans and their spouses. Veterans Day is Nov. 11 but the observance this year was Nov. 10. Islander Photos: Ryan Paice

Former Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson, a U.S. Army veteran of the 101st Airborne Division who served two tours in the Vietnam War, waves Nov. 10 from a low-speed vehicle while serving as the parade marshal of the Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade in Anna Maria.

Members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader alumni shake their pom-poms Nov. 10 as they march down Pine Avenue.

The crowd gives a standing ovation Nov. 10 to military veterans who attended the ceremony following the Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade in Anna Maria, where they were recognized by Mayor Dan Murphy.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, a U.S. Army veteran who served 1968-69 during the Vietnam War, right, Nov. 10 thanks the partners and spouses of veterans for their supporting efforts during a Veterans Day ceremony at City Pier Park.

The Braden River High School marching band marches Nov. 10 down Pine Avenue in Anna Maria during the city’s annual Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, right, thanks city staff Nov. 10 for the effort they put into the city’s annual Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade.

The crowd stands Nov. 10 as the Rev. Gordon Zanetti, a priest at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Sarasota and a U.S. Navy veteran, recites an invocation to begin a Veterans Day ceremony at City Pier Park in Anna Maria. Zanetti is a Holmes Beach native.

Anna Maria Island Historical Society volunteers hand out cups of ice cream Nov. 10 to people leaving the city of Anna Maria’s annual Old Soldiers and Sailors Parade on Veterans Day.