102-year-old Central Texas WWII veteran featured as Grand Marshall in National Memorial Day Parade

WACO, Texas (KWTX) – Waco native and World War II veteran Ralph Graham was featured as one of the Grand Marshalls in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

Military.com says this year’s parade featured survivors of World War II to honor the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2024.

Graham, 102, published a book in 2020 named “12 minutes,” where he shares his story of his 33 missions as a B-17 radio operator in World War II and his inclusion in the Battle of the Bulge.

Graham said his goal behind the book was to ensure his crewmates aren’t forgotten.

“They wanted someone to know what happened,” Graham said. “They wanted everyone to know the story of our day because nobody else did.”

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