Veterans share stories of sacrifice at Palm Springs parade
Thousands of people turned out to the 19th annual Palm Springs Veterans Day Parade which started off with a flyover of vintage warplanes.
The theme of of this years parade “Honoring All Who Served” pays tribute to all veterans for their service in our Armed Forces defending our freedoms.
“There is great turn out for this parade, 19 years running so something must be working right, people are recognizing what we are intending to do,” said George Stettler co-founder of the Palm Springs Veterans Day Parade.
Many people shared personal reasons to be thankful for others taking the oath.
“My father was liberated by the US Army from Mauthausen Concentration Camp on May 5, 1945 and the first happy sight that my father saw after being incarcerated and almost killed was a US military man,” said Steven Geiger.
Parades like these give children a chance to learn about the sacrifices armed men and women made before them.
“Children of veterans and children of survivors of the war have more of a connection, but 70 years later it’s like teaching Roman history so it’s important to know what our country stands for and what our country is willing to fight for,” said Geiger.
Other members of the military remembered their time in uniform, some having to hide parts of their identity so they could still have the chance to serve their country, such as gay couples serving before it was allowed like Denise Vasquez who served in the Navy 8 years ago.
“We got really lucky the command we were at we were stationed in Italy and the command where I was at and they knew us, and for some reason if they know you, and you are respected, and you do your job, and you don’t cause problems, it was never brought up, and it was never an issue,” said Vasquez.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and also the 25th anniversary of Desert Storm.
