Canyon of Heroes parade set for Iraq, Afghanistan war veterans, Mayor Eric Adams says

New York City will host a ticker-tape parade next summer for veterans of the post-9/11 wars — Iraq and Afghanistan — and their families, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

The parade, scheduled for July 6, 2026, is "a historic tribute recognizing the extraordinary service, sacrifice, and resilience of a generation that bore the weight of America’s longest war," Adams’ office said in a news release issued Thursday.

Adams is calling it the "Homecoming of Heroes."

The city’s veterans services commissioner, James Hendon, said in the release: "For the post-9/11 generation of combat veterans and their families, this march down Broadway is a symbol of belonging, of closure, and of collective pride. We served through two decades of war. Now, together, we write the next chapter — one of unity, recognition, and possibility."

Specifics of the parade are forthcoming, but it will be held in lower Manhattan along the Canyon of Heroes — the classic route from the Battery to City Hall.

Polo LaGrandier, of Bay Shore, founder of Sons of Liberty LI in Deer Park, said Thursday he hadn’t heard about the parade, but he thinks veterans would go to a parade honoring them.

“If it’s something that can benefit the veterans and get them out there and seen and appreciated by people and loved by people, I couldn’t see why the veterans wouldn’t want to be a part of it,” he said.

Adams spokeswoman Liz Garcia said the parade’s cost — $1.2 million — would be funded entirely by donors. As for whether the parade would happen if Adams loses the mayoral election later this year, Garcia wrote in an email that that it is a question with an answer to be determined in 2026.

The Canyon of Heroes has hosted over 200 parades since the first one, on Oct. 28, 1886, to dedicate the Statue of Liberty, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. Honorees have included war heroes, kings, soldiers, presidents, a pope, sea captains, a concert pianist and sports champions such as the Liberty women’s basketball team last year.

According to a 2023 estimate from the U.S. Census, there are 4 million veterans of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, of which 5,165 are Nassau residents and 8,252 are from Suffolk.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.