ROANOKE, Va. – On Veterans Day, people across southwest Virginia took the time to thank those who have served.
Thousands came out to do just that at Virginia's Veterans Parade in Roanoke Saturday morning. You saw it on 10 News, as we were honored to be the main sponsor. One of the veterans we caught up with along the parade route Saturday served during the Vietnam War. He said the celebration and appreciation of veterans is something that has changed a lot in the past 42 years.
Roanoke paid its respects to veterans Saturday in grand fashion. For many looking on, it meant a lot.
"I lost a lot of friends over there, so that's why it was hard for me," said veteran Gil Perkey.
Perkey said the music and cheering crowds are a far cry from the welcome soldiers received coming home from Vietnam.
"We were disrespected, people were spit on, cussed at, different things thrown at them, all kinds of names being called 'baby killers.' It was tough the whole time," Perkey said.
It's a time veterans, even more than 40 years later, remember vividly.
"I worked with guys in Vietnam, nobody even talked to them when they came home. It just wasn't right, so it's getting better," veteran Mickey McKaughan said.
Getting better at showing veterans their service and sacrifice is appreciated by thousands.
"I've had people come in this parade, come give me a hug and thank me for my service," Perkey said.
It's that "thank you" that many parents brought their children out to see and appreciate.
"I didn't know how to tell her. I just had to say your daddy's over there fighting the bad guys and protecting us from them coming over here," said Kristen Schmaeman, whose husband served several tours in the Middle East.
For some, it's a yearly tradition, but for those who still salute, it means a whole lot more.
"It means a lot to a veteran, and especially if you've been in some kind of conflict, now people realize what we had done, what we had sacrificed. Some of them sacrificed the ultimate, gave their lives for their country," Perkey said.