BRADENTON — Wednesday’s parade was under way and Frances Fannin waved her American flag as it passed by on Third Street West.

There was the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office color guard.

The JROTC units from the county’s high schools.

Marching bands from three high schools, too.

“This is wonderful,” said the 80-year-old widow, smiling at the Veterans Day Parade, the centerpiece of the Manatee County Veterans Week Celebration. “It means so much.”

Fannin’s husband, Ralph, passed away two years ago, but she’ll never forget that he fought in Europe in World War II.

“I’m showing how much I appreciate him and all the other veterans, who put their lives on the line,” Fannin said.

For a full story on the Veterans Day Parade, see Thursday’s Bradenton Herald.