No parade needed

If the growing argument that U.S. troops need a “welcome home” parade continues, the discussion should switch to include those who in reality benefit – politicians, war hawks and citizens who chose not to serve.

St. Louis held theirs late last month and claim that 100,000 citizens came to “honor” 600 service members (rounded up on short notice) which were mixed in with 19,400 others, non-Iraq-war veterans, to march in the show.

Now they say it’s time the nation joined St. Louis. Seattle is considering the idea.

What’s wrong with the parade picture is that the wars actually continue with sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines remaining in harm’s way today and next week. The building hype for these parades tells of a largely unrealistic population that has never really understood the involvement and cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A parade looks nice but does little to actually honor veterans. Sorry, but true.

Most of the combat troops that routed Saddam Hussein’s divisions of Republican Guards in 1991 returned to Germany after the fight and did not flood Main Street USA. Those who did the bulk of the fighting never got that ticker-tape thank you. I know because I was there, along with my comrades, destroying the 1st Hammurabi Armoured Division the 2nd al-Medinah al-Munawera Armoured Division and the 3rd Tawalkalna ala-Allah Mechanized Infantry Division with every bit of available haste during the largest armored battle in U.S. history. In the 21 years since, I’ve not heard, read or seen a complaint from one of those combat veterans saying that they were not honored with a parade.

Parades, along with patriotism, benefit political agendas, recruitment and help those who stood by, while others served and died, feel better about the whole blood-soaked affair.

If this nation wants to honor its hundreds of thousands of Iraq war veterans, who will for the rest of their days be burdened by their service, it’s going to take more than a parade.

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