Cold winds didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowds gathered to watch Friday’s Veteran’s Day parade. In fact, the breezes gently stirred the flags they held, and for some, whipped up emotion.
Army Veteran Ron Scott stood beneath the flagpole he helped to get installed at Townsend Park Homes in 2009. Scott began advocating for a proper flag pole after he noticed that passing parades suspended music as they walked past the Albany Housing Authority building, not a fitting tribute to the building’s residents, many of whom served in the country’s military, he says.
Today is a good time to be a veteran, because the United States is so much more appreciative of veterans' service, says Scott. Unfortunately, it has not always been this way, and in years past, returning veterans faced a host of unhappy and unhelpful responses to their service.
“It’s nice to stand out here under the flags, watching the bands go by, listening to the music, with tears in my eyes because I’m happy instead of tears in my eyes because I’m so mad,” says Scott.
Elsewhere on the Avenue, veterans of Vietnam and Korea saluted passing troops, and women grasped their hearts and waved to the region’s Gold Star and Blue Star Mothers.
It was a poignant parade, as this year marks the tenth anniversary of the country’s War on Terror and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The parade included Congressman Paul Tonko, Assemblyman John McEneny, Mayor Jerry Jennings, a flag-bearing motorcycle guard, weapons from the Watervliet Arsenal, the Uncle Sam Chorus, marching bands from area high schools, Veterans for Peace, and members of Occupy Albany, a local branch of the national Occupy Wall Street movement.
Memorial Day and Veteran's Day are Scott's holidays. "Those are my two," says Scott. "They're my Christmas and Thanksgiving. They're for all my brothers, for those who did come home and those who didn't."
