Veterans Day 2012

A boy watches the Uncle Sam Chorus (and Uncle Sam himself) pass during the Albany Veterans Day Parade.

Veterans Day Parade

The Civil War represented at today's Veteran's Day parade in downtown Albany.

See also: The Soldiers Lot

Happy Veterans Day

A fife-and-drum band marches down Washington Avenue during the annual parade to honor Albany's veterans.

Veterans Day

Most Albany residents are familiar with the monument at the Henry Johnson Boulevard (formerly Northern Boulevard, but renamed to honor a WWI hero) entrance to Washington Park.

The most common view of the monument is from the front - a bronze maiden holding a sheathed sword, her arms laden with palm branches. But that view doesn't show the handsome details of the marble base, such as the Union soldiers shown above.

While it's commonly called the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, its official name - according to a nearby plaque - is the Albany Veterans Memorial. Dedicated on October 12, 1912, it was rededicated in 1986 as part of Albany's Tricentennial celebrations.