ST. LOUIS (AP) — The first big parade commemorating the end of the Iraq War will be held this weekend in the nation’s heartland, the brainchild of two friends who couldn’t believe there hadn’t already been one.
St. Louis will host “Welcome Home the Heroes from Iraq Day” on Saturday with a noontime parade through downtown. Organizers say several hundred troops of post-Sept. 11 conflicts are expected to participate.
Craig Schneider and Tom Appelbaum organized the event, reasoning a city that drew hundreds of thousands of people for a World Series championship parade could also honor veterans.
Ticker-tape salutes to returning troops are part of the American culture. Many cities honored veterans of World War I and World War II. But the events marking the end of the Iraq War have been far lower-key.
