COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia's 41st annual Veterans Day parade was an opportunity for people to honor veterans in the Midlands and across the country.
Among the marching Fort Jackson troops and military might at the parade, veterans of the Vietnam War appreciated the patriotic display.
“It means a lot to me because I think about all the ones that've gone before me. It really excites me and means a lot to me,” said Air Force veteran Henry Parker.
“I think it's very encouraging, this particular area of the Southeast has a lot of military influence, I really appreciate that,” said Navy veteran Tom Raehl.
“It means a lot to me, I retired in 1980 and it's good to see that the young people still has an interest in serving our country. So, I'm here to support it,” added Air Force veteran Curtis Williams Jr.
Parker, Raehl, and Williams Jr. all saw combat during the Vietnam War.
They and other veterans in attendance gave their thoughts on how the community can do more to help veterans.
“Ensure that the veterans that are really suffering-- doesn't have the necessary benefits, make sure we have the kind of policies that ensure their benefits. Especially homeless and the disabled that are not yet receiving services,” Williams Jr said.
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Other veterans stressed the need to welcome them back to civilian life, help them assimilate, and offer jobs and more state and federal support.
Parker, who wears a vest with a patch honoring the Vietnam war's missing and killed, said you also should not forget.
“Just remember the sacrifices that the ones that gone on provided for them,” Parker told WLTX.
Retired Coast Guard Commander Peter Rascoe also watched the parade on Monday, giving him the opportunity to reflect on the day and what it means.
“Well it means a big deal to have support showed for those who are-- who have come back and are trying to assimilate into the community and doing their jobs and raising their families like they wanted to do all along. So, I think it's a great thing for the public to show support for that,” Rascoe said.
Rascoe spent 30 years with the Coast Guard in active duty and the reserves mostly in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
He made sure we spoke to a nearby young woman.
20-year-old Ebony Kit'trell told Rascoe and WLTX she signed up for the Air Force and reports for basic training in less than ten days.
“I was kind of in a rough point in in my life, I couldn't really afford schooling and I felt like giving to the community. So, I felt like what other else way to do that than to enlist to the military?” Kit'trell told WLTX.
Kit'trell said she hopes to work with drones in the Air Force. She added other members of her family served in the Army and Marines and she's continuing the family line.
