Portland veteran revived the Veterans Day parade through passion and a willingness to learn

Portland had a Veterans Day parade for over 40 years, until it didn’t. There was no parade in 2020 because of the pandemic. Then the event lost its sponsor, and there were no plans to bring it back.

That’s when Napoleon Hodgers stepped in.

“Wheels started turning in my head,” Hodgers says. “I was like, no, we’ve got to make this happen.”

Hodgers is a veteran of the Marine Corps, the Army National Guard and the Air Force Reserve. His main inspiration for restarting the parade was the Vietnam War veterans he met.

“When they came back, they weren’t thanked for their service. They were called names, spat upon, etcetera,” Hodgers says. “I was thinking they sacrificed so much. The very least we can do is have a parade to honor their sacrifice.”

Hodgers spoke with OPB’s “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Geoff Norcross: When you heard the Veterans Day parade wasn’t coming back to Portland a few years ago, what’s the first thing that came to mind?

Napoleon Hodgers: Other than the profanity, I was wondering what happened. Because it’s a staple. Everybody expected it. So I was thinking, no this is not right.

Norcross: And when did that thought become an idea in your head that maybe you could do it yourself?

Hodgers: About 15 minutes after the gentleman told me that it had been canceled, wheels started turning in my head. I was like, no, we’ve got to make this happen. So I figured I could do it. I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I figured I could do it pretty quickly.

Norcross: What kind of experience did you have putting on major events like this?

Hodgers: Zero. I did work for a college before. I put on a health fair. But it was a way smaller one-day event and a lot less planning. And also, in the Marine Corps, I had put on events. But in the military, you don’t have to worry about a lot of things. You just basically tell people to be there and they’ll be there. So on the civilian side, no. None.

Norcross: You got a group together in the beginning of 2022 with an eye to putting on a parade the following November for Veterans Day. What were those early conversations like? And when did you get a sense that this is a really big thing that you got to learn a lot to do?

Hodgers: Well, I got that almost immediately, because when I reached out to some friends of mine who actually did have parade planning experience, they told me that they plan their parades like one, one-and-a-half years before the event. So that’s when I kind of knew, hey, wait a minute. This might be a little harder than I think. But being stupidly optimistic, I still figured I could do it.

Norcross: Can you give me an example of something really big, really important that you had to learn how to do?

Hodgers: We actually had to learn how to get the parade permit. It isn’t a thing where you just walk into an office, plunk down some money, and they give it to you. No, you have to explain what the event is going to be for, the number of people that are going to be involved, the resources that you need from the city, insurance information. So that was one of the first things that I found.

Norcross: I know you’re a veteran, and I can understand why you would want to have a parade. But why do you care so much about this parade that you would give your life over to it so completely to ensure that it happens?

Hodgers: Because it’s important. Look at it from my perspective. I joined the military after Vietnam, so I’m not a Vietnam veteran. I had Vietnam and Korean War veterans in my family. I knew of Vietnam veterans. And then when I came to Oregon and got involved with different veterans associations, I got to know a lot of these veterans and some of the things that they went through when they came back from the war. And it was totally different from nowadays (when) you hear people say thank you for your service. When they came back, they weren’t thanked for their service. They were called names, spat upon, etcetera. And I was thinking they sacrificed so much. The very least we can do is have a parade to honor their sacrifice. So that’s why it’s important to me.

The Portland 2026 Veterans Day Parade is Wednesday, Nov. 11, on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Northeast Portland, beginning at 10 a.m.