CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Vietnam veterans from eight states were in Charleston Thursday morning for a parade on the Kanawha Boulevard.
The route stretched from Clendenin to Court streets and down toward Virginia Street East.
Veterans from the George C. Duggins Region Three Conference for Vietnam Veterans of America 2016 were on hand representing West Virginia, Virginia Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland as well as Washington D.C.
Participants included Greenbrier East High School JROTC, James Monroe High School JROTC, Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, Vietnam Veterans of America, West Virginia Air National Guard, Miss West Virginia 2015 Chelsea Malone and many others.
Allen Thomas Junior, a veteran from Kentucky, watched the parade from Haddad Riverfront Park with his wife. He served in the U.S. Army for 21 years and said he owes a lot to the military.
He said he was enlisted on his 18th birthday and left when he was 38.
“I’ve grown up in the military,” he said. “I took away two marriages, eight children. All my children were either in the service or they married someone in the service.”
David Lyle, who served 23 years in both the Army and Air National Guard, said when he left in 1999, he was a changed man.
“It gave me a sense of purpose,” he said about being an American citizen. “We take for granted that we live in America. I think once you’re in the military, you’re defending being an American and you stand up for what America is.”
Both Thomas and Lyle said they had an instant bond Thursday morning on the side of the street when they discovered they both served in the Army at one point.
“They become your family for a lot of reasons,” Lyle said about his experience. “If you’re stationed overseas, they’re all you got over there whether it’s a wife, you bunk mates, whatever. They become almost family. I mean, you get to know them as well as you do your own brothers and sisters back home.”
The annual parade is hosted in one of the seven states each year. Kentucky plans to host next year’s parade.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will deliver remarks to the veterans at Embassy Suites in Charleston Friday at 9:45 a.m.