THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120216
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 76 lines
On a chilly, blustery morning that tested the aging joints of old soldiers and sailors, thousands from the Hampton Roads military community - and others who just wanted to thank them - turned out Monday for a parade and ceremony honoring Veterans Day.
For more than an hour and a half, military and student-military marching units, high school bands and an array of veterans' groups thumped in step from the oceanside streets of the tourist strip to the Tidewater Veterans' Memorial across from the Pavilion Convention Center.
The contingent of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Brownies alone numbered more than 2,000. More people, by far, were in the parade than lined the streets to watch it.
An unrelenting breeze and a thermometer that hovered perilously near 40 may have iced the muscle and marrow of the older vets, but nothing chilled their spirit.
``Got me two new knees, both of 'em metal,'' one older veteran was overheard saying, ``and I'll tell ya, I can feel 'em both.''
``Better get ya some antifreeze in 'em,'' a friend advised, laughing.
``Yup, gonna do just that in a little bit here,'' the vet replied.
While many larger cities have canceled Veterans Day parades through the years, from lack of interest, it would be heresy to do so in Hampton Roads, where warships, jet aircraft and helicopters are an indelible part of the community fabric.
A visitor, Vietnam veteran Leo Browning from Dayton, Ohio, remarked repeatedly Monday on his surprise at the size and spirit of the turnout.
``They just don't do anything like this anymore where I'm from,'' Browning said. Dayton, home of the sprawling Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, has a considerable military population of its own.
``They just hold some little service out at the V.A. hospital,'' he said. ``Nothing like this. Haven't seen anything like this in 10 years. It's like Americans just don't care anymore.
``I'm just here visiting my son and his wife, they're in the Navy,'' said Browning, who wore a black-leather vest stitched with Vietnam service and POW/MIA patches. ``I'm a veteran and I had to find somewhere to participate today. This is just terrific. Boggles my mind.''
The crowd dwindled markedly after the parade, but a strong contingent of veterans, in a mix of fatigues and civvies, with campaign ribbons and insignia tacked to their caps and jackets, stayed for the annual laying of a memorial wreath and remarks from civilian and military dignitaries.
Their reason for being there was summed up by the parade's grand marshal, Rear Adm. Stanley W. Bryant, who paid tribute to all the veterans who taught a nation that ``nothing, absolutely nothing, should be more sacred than our liberty and our freedom.''
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
Nothing chilled their spirits
HUY NGUYEN photos
The Virginian-Pilot
Phil Egert, a Virginia Beach veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars,
stands at attention during a Veterans Day ceremony at the Tidewater
Veterans' Memorial Monday across from the Pavilion Convention
Center.
Veterans Day marchers file past a fluttering American flag on the
porch of a house on 19th Street near Arctic Avenue in Virginia Beach
Monday.
BETH BERGMAN PHOTOS
The Virginian-Pilot
Steven Titze, who served four years in the Navy, watched the
Military Circle ceremony with his girlfriend, Amy Augun, right, of
Virginia Beach. Titze's stint in the Navy ended two months ago.
Norfolk City Councilman W. Randy Wright examines a monument unveiled
at Military Circle Mall on Monday in honor of all veterans who
served in the United States armed forces. by CNB