Thousands at parade honoring Iraqi war vets in St. Louis

January 28, 2012 3:33 PM

St. Louis hosts parade for Iraq War vets

Participants in a parade to honor Iraq War veterans make their way along a downtown street Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

(AP) ST. LOUIS — Thousands of people lining downtown streets cheered wildly as veterans, some wiping away tears, marched through St. Louis on Saturday during the nation's first big welcome-home parade for Iraq War veterans.

Several hundred veterans, many dressed in camouflage, walked alongside military vehicles, marching bands and even the Budweiser Clydesdales. People in the crowd held signs reading "Welcome Home" and "God Bless Our Troops," and fire trucks with aerial ladders hoisted three huge American flags along the route.

"It's not necessarily overdue. It's just the right thing," said Maj. Rich Radford, who became a symbol of the event thanks to a photo of his young daughter taking his hand while welcoming him home from his second tour in Iraq in 2010.

Since the war ended, there has been little fanfare for returning veterans aside from gatherings at airports and military bases — no ticker-tape parades or large public celebrations — so two friends from St. Louis decided to change that.
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UPDATE from ABC
Veterans Share Stories at Iraq War Parade in Mo.

By JIM SALTER Associated Press
ST. LOUIS January 29, 2012 (AP)
Veterans who attended the nation's first major Iraq War parade Saturday in St. Louis said they appreciated the welcome home, even though some expected to be redeployed to Afghanistan or elsewhere in the coming months. Here are a few of their stories:


Army Maj. Rich Radford had two long tours of duty in Iraq under almost constant threat of violence.

Radford, a combat engineer, spent 15 months on his first tour starting in January 2004, then about 10 months when he went back in September 2009. He earned the Bronze Star for his service.

"Every day we were in danger," Radford, 40, said, "because the Iraqis didn't like us, didn't want us in their country. They would sell out our positions, our missions."

Radford, a 23-year military veteran, marched in the parade with his two children, Aimee, 8, and Warren, 12. An image of the father and daughter upon his return home from the second tour of duty is emblazoned on T-shirts and posters associated with the parade, fashioned from a photo taken by Radford's sister of Aimee, then 6, reaching up for her father's hand as family greeting him at Lambert Airport in St. Louis.
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Thousands at parade honoring Iraqi war vets
BY JONAH NEWMAN
Saturday, January 28, 2012 12:30 pm
ST. LOUIS
A downtown parade to honor Iraq war veterans stepped off at noon today at Kiener Plaza.

Thousands of people lined the parade route on Market Street, cheering, waving American flags and holding signs "Welcome Home."

Christine Willey of Webster Groves was one of those along the parade route. Her nephew served in Afghanistan and was wounded in Iraq when his Humvee was hit by an explosive.

"I think he would appreciate it a lot," she said of the parade. Her nephew, of Wentzville, who suffered brain injuries, was unable to attend the parade.
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Thousands at St. Louis parade welcome home Iraq War vets
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Thousands of people have turned out in St. Louis for the nation's first big parade welcoming home Iraq War veterans.

Several hundred veterans, many dressed in camouflage, marched Saturday afternoon through downtown along with marching bands, politicians and even the Budweiser Clydesdales.
read more here