Veterans front and center

Associated Press

Awash in patriotism that has surged since Sept. 11, Veterans Day celebrations across the nation bustled with heavy turnout and raucous cheer — or proceeded with renewed solemnity and reverence.

In the tiny resort town of Branson, Mo., the sidewalks were stacked four deep on Sunday; its 6,000 residents were expecting about 150,000 guests.

An unusually warm wind blew over the sea of mostly red, white and blue which marked the 67th year that bands, color guard units, floats and soldiers have paraded through on Veterans Day.

In New York City, patriotic spirit energized the once-fading ritual of military veterans and politicians marching through midtown Manhattan. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg were cheered as they laid a wreath at Madison Square Park, the starting point for the 18-block parade.

"It is a day in which all New Yorkers and all Americans now understand — maybe better than ever — what our veterans have done for us," Giuliani said.

In Phoenix, Ariz., more than 100 people gathered outside the Heard Museum for an American Indian gourd dance. Warriors traditionally participated as a way of showing thanks for having survived and remembering the dead.

In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney made a pilgrimage to Arlington National Cemetery, placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns and promising victory in the war on terrorism.

President Bush, touring the World Trade Center’s smoking rubble two months after suicide hijackings, called on Americans to remember "the terrible harm that an enemy can inflict" as they reflect anew on the sacrifices of their military.

In a Veterans Day tribute, the commander in chief said attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania deepened the nation’s debt to soldiers who fight abroad and police and firefighters who serve at home.

Patriotism took one Dallas man by surprise: Paul Wills was changing buses at Union Station on Saturday when he heard the rat-a-tat-tat of drums coming from a nearby parking lot where hundreds of veterans, police officers and others had gathered to start the annual parade.

When they took to the streets, so did Wills, who missed his bus to cheer them on.

"It’s good to be in this country," Wills said. "I’d rather be here than anywhere else."

Associated Press

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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