Veterans soak up admiration with the rain at annual parade
The dark, heavy clouds threatening rain Saturday morning followed through with their intentions just in time for the start of the annual parade honoring veterans.
As if to keep time with the high school marching-band drummers, what began as a drizzle turned into a downpour, soaking marchers and supporters alike.
Hundreds of people braved the wind and rain to applaud and wave flags as the 23rd annual Celebrate Freedom Veterans Parade passed through Vancouver’s historic and downtown areas. Some huddled under umbrellas. Some deflected the rain with blankets and coats. Others took refuge under trees. But even as the rain intensified, spectators smiled and cheered as the parade entrants marched by.
As Vancouver resident Norma Watson stood in the soggy grass watching the parade, her hair wet and rain running down her jacket, she said the weather would never keep her from attending the annual event.
“We can handle this rain if those guys can handle 18 months in 100-degree weather,” she said.
Prior to the start of the parade — and the rain — several dozen people gathered on the Marshall House lawn for a morning ceremony.
Maj. Gen. Curtis Loop served as the parade’s reviewing officer. During the ceremony, Loop acknowledged the parade’s theme, “Honoring the 160th Anniversary of the Army at Vancouver Barracks,” by speaking of the notable soldiers who were based in Vancouver and the more than 1,400 men and women who have been laid to rest at the Fort Vancouver Military Cemetery. Loop reminded those in attendance that many of the soldiers who died in conflict were young.
“They gave up two lives,” he said: “The one they were living, and the one they were to live.”
Throughout the years, 25 million men and women have served in the armed forces, and now they are neighbors, co-workers and friends, he said. Loop thanked those soldiers for America’s 233 years of freedom.
“You earned this nation’s respect the day you put on that uniform,” he said. “And you still have it today.”
During the ceremony, Mayor Royce Pollard, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, reflected on the first Veterans Day parade in Vancouver. That first event lasted only 35 minutes. Saturday’s parade ran for more than an hour and included nearly 2,500 participants representing more than 100 organizations, from Cub Scouts to the Honor Society of American Veterans.
Pollard asked for a moment of silence to remember the soldiers killed Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, and the Fort Lewis soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 27. Among the eight Fort Lewis soldiers who fell was Pfc. Ian Walz, 25, a Hudson’s Bay High School graduate.
Walz and other local soldiers who died in combat were also honored during the parade. Behind a sign reading “Gold Star Families,” fire cadets and family members carried banners displaying the photos and names of loved ones who didn’t return from war. As they walked down the wet street, spectators applauded.
Watson said that every year she is touched by the tribute.
“They bring a tear every time,” she said.
Vancouver resident Donna Clark said the parade and other Veterans Day celebrations remind her of the camaraderie she experienced while in the Air Force.
“You feel like you’re still a part of something bigger than yourself,” she said.
Ten-year-old AbigailRose Martin had her own thoughts about honoring veterans like her father, Staff Sgt. Chuck Martin, who served under Maj. Gen. Loop in the U.S. Army in the 1990s and has completed several tours to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I think it’s important because I think people should be honored that are at war, because they’re fighting so we can be free,” she said, holding a small American flag.
After a brief pause, AbigailRose offered another thought about Veterans Day.
“I think it’s another way to give them the respect they need and earned,” she said.
Marissa Harshman: marissa.harshman@columbian.com or 360-735-4546.
