Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro marked Veterans Day by going back to the company’s founders. In a post on Instagram, D’Amaro pointed out that before Walt and Roy O. Disney started the company, both of them served their country.
“Before Walt and Roy O. Disney founded our company, both answered a call to service. Roy in the Navy, Walt with the Red Cross,” D’Amaro wrote in his Veterans Day post. “Over a century later, veterans are still a big part of our company. Thousands of heroes work here every day. Today, we honor all who have served, are serving, and the families who support them. Thank you for all you’ve given to this country.”
The post pairs photos of Walt and Roy with veterans who work across Disney today in a range of jobs.
Walt And Roy In World War I
Roy O. Disney served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. Walt was too young to enlist, so he volunteered with the Red Cross and drove an ambulance in France near the end of the war, as the Disney Parks Blog recounts in its own Veterans Day post. Walt famously lied about his age at 16 to get there.
The brothers founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio together a few years later, in 1923, the company that grew into The Walt Disney Company.
Veterans Day Across Disney
D’Amaro’s message came as the parks held their annual Veterans Day ceremonies. At Disneyland, more than 100 veteran cast members made their way down Main Street, U.S.A. toward Town Square with the U.S. Marine 1st Division Band and a Marine Corps Color Guard, then gathered on the Disneyland Railroad Main Street Station steps to be recognized. At Magic Kingdom, four veteran cast members were honored during the Flag Retreat in Town Square, each representing a branch of the military.
Disney’s veteran-focused employee group, Disney SALUTE, picked the Magic Kingdom honorees, who stood in for every veteran cast member working at Disney businesses in Florida.
A First Veterans Day As CEO
This was D’Amaro’s first Veterans Day as CEO. He took over from Bob Iger in March, after leading Disney Experiences, the parks and resorts division, since 2020. The Flag Retreat ceremonies at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland happen every day and have been a tradition since each park opened, but only on November 11 do they turn into a salute to the parks’ own veteran cast members.
His post had drawn more than 100 comments by Wednesday evening.
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