When Dick Kounovsky heard that he was chosen as this year’s grand marshal of the Longmont Veterans Day Parade, the news took a while to sink in.

“I couldn’t believe it in the first place,” Kounovsky said. “It’s quite an honor to be parade marshal. That’s something I never thought would ever happen to me.”

Spectators will line Longmont’s Main Street on today for the annual parade to honor United States military veterans. At the front, Honor Guard members will clear the way with flags held high. Behind them will be Kounovsky, a 90-year-old U.S. Army veteran who lives west of Longmont.

Kounovsky is used to leading the parade, having served as captain of the American Legion Post 32 Honor Guard until stepping away from the role last year. This time, he’s excited to get a better view of the sidelines from the grand marshal’s World War II Jeep.

Kounovsky’s parade vehicle is fitting, since he used to work on them as an Army mechanic in the 1950s. During his military service, he made sure trucks, tanks and tank transporters kept running for the soldiers in his company.

“If some vehicle fell out, it was up to me to fix that thing and get them on the road again,” he said.

When he was 18, Kounovsky joined the military because “everybody was doing it” back then, he explained. Instead of being sent to the conflict in Korea, Kounovsky was given a different assignment: Germany.

As Germans experienced the aftermath of World War II, Kounovsky used his mechanical skills to fix carburetors and distributors. He also spent five months stationed next to Bergen-Belsen, the former concentration camp where Anne Frank was imprisoned.

Since his service ended, Kounovsky has had the opportunity to share his love of his country with a lot of people. In the Post 32 Honor Guard, which he joined 25 years ago, he travels to funerals within a 50-mile radius from Longmont in order to bury veterans with proper military honors.

Kounovsky also teaches U.S. flag etiquette in schools in his area, including Northridge Elementary and Altona Middle. His lessons cover the history of the flag and how to properly fold it.

For Kounovsky, Veterans Day is an important moment to recognize the freedoms that Americans enjoy. He hopes as many people as possible can see the parade today.

“Everybody should come and say ‘thank you’ to a veteran,” he said.

Kounovsky’s wife, Dee, will sit with him in the Jeep during the parade. She shared that it’s a big honor for her husband to be picked as the grand marshal.

“He’s earned it,” Dee Kounovsky said.