Veteran’s Day Parade November 6, 2010

by: Reine J. Knobbe
A very cold morning with only five bikers from our area brave enough to endure the cold ride to downtown St. Louis to support our troops. I understand, 9:30 am on a Saturday is hard enough, but add the below 30 degrees and where is the motivation? This was my first parade in St. Louis. My parents never took me as a kid and I was just never interested in going. Well, today’s Veteran’s Day Parade has changed my mind. It was actually quite fun. Proper riding gear made the cold trip bearable and we were early enough to get front row parking! Thanks to Bob of Citizens for Respect and Honor for asking us to be a starting point.
One of the reason’s the day was so much fun is that the Veteran’s Parade is interactive. I did not just stand on the street watching everyone march by, but hollered out my thanks for their sacrifice as they passed. There were cannons going off and old muskets from the civil war fired. Shriners cars and guys in their fancy cars doing burnouts for us (a motor head is a motor head after all and they new we would enjoy the thrill!) The high light of the day was when an army Sargent ordered his troop to stop, drop and give him 20 push-ups for the Harley Riders. “Give me one more for the women in leather!” he barked out. (He could give me orders any day, oh baby!).
On a more serious note, I watched part of the opening ceremony. The ceremony to honor the POWs and MIAs was very moving. It brought home why we were there today. To honor those that have served our country. No matter your political beliefs, we are at war and there are men and women putting their life on the line for us to have our freedom. It really hit me how important it is to show your support when one member of our armed forces shook my hand and thanked me for coming and supporting them. When looking up and down the street, there were not that many people on the side walks. I am very glad I went and hope that next year brings out more folks. Cold day or not. Our veterans deserve our support.