New York City will host the nation’s first-ever ticker tape parade honoring post-9/11 veterans next summer. On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) Commissioner James Hendon announced that the parade, “Homecoming of Heroes,” will take place on July 6, 2025, as a tribute to the service and sacrifices of American servicemembers who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The event will mark the first time NYC—or any major U.S. city—has formally recognized these veterans with a celebration of this kind. The parade will take place along the “Canyon of Heroes” in Lower Manhattan between Bowling Green and City Hall.
The celebration honors the more than 2.9 million veterans who served in the wake of the September 11 attacks, including 1.9 million deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan across more than three million tours lasting over 30 days.
More than 7,000 American troops were killed in the wars, and over 53,000 were wounded, with most post-9/11 servicemembers deployed multiple times. As of 2021, more than 31,000 of these veterans had died by suicide, over four times the number killed in combat.
The legacy of these wars continues to affect those who served, with an estimated 36 percent of post-9/11 veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder and over 520,000 cancer diagnoses, mostly linked to toxic exposures, reported within this group.
“Homecoming of Heroes” will also honor members of city and state agencies whose response to the 9/11 attacks is closely connected to the legacy of the post-9/11 generation.
“The ‘Homecoming of Heroes’ parade is not merely a celebration — it is a historic moment in which a major city unites to solemnly honor the extraordinary service, sacrifice, and resilience of our post-9/11 combat veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Adams said.
“Our veterans and their families matter to us — not just during the wartime they fought in, but in the peacetime they achieved. This parade marks a small seed of our gratitude for all those who watered the tree of liberty so that we can sit under its shade. It is because of these brave men and women that we can cherish the most precious gift we have: our freedom.”
The parade will coincide with several major milestones, including the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the city’s 400th birthday, and the return of the International Naval Review 250, which will bring allied fleets from around the world to New York Harbor in a rare display of global maritime unity.
“This is more than a parade — it’s a moment of national reflection and a promise kept,” DVS Commissioner Hendon said. “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.”
NYC has hosted over 200 ticker-tape parades, named for the use of shredded paper from ticker-tape machines, starting in 1886 for the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, as 6sqft previously reported.
In 2021, the city honored COVID-19 first responders with a parade and the New York City Football Club’s championship. Most recently, the city hosted a parade for the New York Liberty after the team won its first-ever WNBA championship.
The parade’s announcement comes during “Veterans and Service Members’ Week,” part of national Military Appreciation Month leading up to Memorial Day.
On Tuesday, Mayor Adams and Commissioner Hendon unveiled initial designs for a new memorial honoring at least 100 fallen post-9/11 servicemembers from New York City who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Titled “Flames of Honor,” the monument, designed by artist Douwe Blumberg, will be located on the waterfront in Whitestone, Queens. As part of the Utopia Parkway Seawall Replacement and the Department of Transportation’s Street Improvements initiative, the project will also include a bike path, pedestrian walkway, and rebuilt bulkheads to protect the area from extreme weather.
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