Texas Veterans Military Show honors veterans during all-day event Saturday

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The Texas Veteran’s Military Show pulls out all the stops to honor veterans and introduce them to the public. This event includes a Medal of Honor Parade to the 188-acre grounds where they will honor multiple Medal of Honor recipients, They will have over 70 military vehicles and aircraft to tour, and a firing range to check out historic weapons going back as far as World War II.

On Thursday evening, several of the honorees and their family members flew into Tyler for the event. They were welcomed by cheers and applause from a crowd that included the TJC Apache Belles, members of law enforcement, and many East Texas veterans.

They’re all looking forward to the big event to take place on Saturday.

“It’s an all-day event, we’ll have a rock ‘n roll band, Mouse & the Traps will be playing,” said Mike Balfay, Bullard firefighter and organizer of the event. “There’s a military parade on the property, where an announcer will talk about each one, and a full-blown car show with hopefully 150 cars at this event and all five branches of the military will be there.”

There’s a parade on Saturday morning at 9:45, beginning at Stewart Funeral Home and heading south to the site of the event, 655 S. Doctor M. Roper Parkway (Hwy 69 South) in Bullard. The parade will feature military vehicles from WWII and classic cars from pre-1978.

The event will have vehicles and veterans from around the U.S. in attendance.

Honorees for 2023 are:

• Dr. Jack Hetzel
• Tom Garner
• Col. Don Ballard
• Robert O’Malley
• Mike Fitzmaurice
• Major General james Livingston
• Melvin Morris
• Robert Patterson
• Clarence Sasser

Special Guests:

• Desmond Doss Jr
• Patricia Pittman
• Kirk Davis
• Brent Casey
• Major Gen. Jay Closner

To learn more about the Texas Veterans Military Show, click here or call 903-894-7143.

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