"Parade marks Iraq war’s end; Many veterans will march in St. Louis today" by Jim Salter | Associated Press, January 28, 2012
ST. LOUIS - Since the Iraq war ended there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.
So, two friends from St. Louis decided to change that. They sought donations, launched a Facebook page, met with the mayor, and mapped a route. And today, hundreds of veterans are expected to march in downtown St. Louis in the nation’s first big welcome home parade since the last troops left Iraq in December....
Why don't you try getting them the top-quality health care and benefits they are entitled to and over which the military hassles them?
Why don't you try getting them the top-quality health care and benefits they are entitled to and over which the military hassles them?
I don't know about you, but it's kinda tough to "celebrate" a mass-murdering, war-criminal exercise based upon lies.
But, they wondered, if St. Louis could host thousands of people for a parade after their beloved Cardinals won the World Series, why couldn’t there be a party for the troops who put their lives on the line?
Says more about AmeriKa than anything I could.
The effort got help with donations from two corporations with St. Louis connections: $10,000 from Anheuser-Busch and $7,500 from the Mayflower moving company. Individual donations have boosted the project’s total budget to about $35,000.
By comparison, more than $5 million was spent two decades ago on New York’s welcome-home parade for Gulf War veterans who helped drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
Ticker-tape salutes to returning troops are part of the American culture, including parades in many cities honoring veterans of World War I and World War II.
And they are gearing us up for WWIII, folks!
Great times, huh?
Since the end of the latest war in Iraq, there have been only small events at military posts, gatherings of families at airports, and a low-key appearance by President Obama at Fort Bragg, N.C., a base that endured more than 200 deaths from fighting in the war.
In St. Louis, Army Specialist James Casey appreciates the handshakes he has received at local and often informal observances of his 11 1/2 years with the Army Reserve and three tours in Iraq, which included the 2003 invasion.
But the 29-year-old father of a 1-year-old daughter relishes attending the St. Louis parade he considers “the proper welcoming home we all know we deserve.’’
“For the longest time, St. Louis has been the east-meets-west society, so I’m not surprised it’s happening here. Hopefully, everybody sees what we’re doing and grabs onto this,’’ Casey said yesterday. “Something like this, where it’s showing support for those that have served, is not just a thank you. It’s an embracing of the sacrifice so many Americans have made.’’
I'm sorry, but after ten years of lies and s*** the whole support the troops thing sounds like support the wars. And it's not me giving vets a hard time getting benefits after they are no longer useful.
As for sacrifice, the American people are doing it every day as their dollar is worth less and less, their homes are taken from them, their jobs eliminated (I don't care what the government propaganda says), their social services slashed, and their taxes raised.
Celebrating the end of the Iraq war hasn’t been as simple as the outpourings after the world wars, said Wayne Fields, professor of English and American Culture Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
With 91,000 troops still fighting in Afghanistan, many Iraq veterans could be redeployed, suggesting to some that it’s premature to celebrate their homecoming.
See: The Lone Gunman of Afghanistan
“We’re not celebrating the end of a war the way we were with V-E Day or V-J Day’’ after World War II, Fields said....
That's because they are NOT OVER!
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"A St. Louis parade welcoming home Iraq War and other post-Sept. 11 veterans was such a hit that at least 10 other cities around the nation are considering similar celebrations....
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Also see: Let parades greet our Iraq vets
Sorry, I missed 'em.
