Thousands honor Las Vegas veterans at downtown parade

By Paul Takahashi

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 | 3:10 p.m.

The things they carried were small: clusters of shiny badges and medals, 3-by-5 inch American flags and caps emblazoned with military insignias. But for the veterans marching and watching the Las Vegas Veterans Day parade Thursday morning, the day was one of huge appreciation.

“It’s a special day for all the veterans,” said Bert Fernald, an 87-year-old World War II veteran.

The Riverside, Calif., resident has been coming to the Las Vegas parade for the past four years to represent the San Bernardino Vets Center. For Fernald, who served under General George Patton, the parade is not just about celebrating his fellow veterans; it was also about the friends he left behind on the battlefield.

“I always remember the ones who didn’t come home,” he said.

Despite the cool, blustery day, thousands of spectators from around the country lined Fourth Street to cheer the veterans organizations marching in the parade.

Seasonal visitors Ted Lego and his wife Renee came from Oregon to watch the celebration. The married couple of 30 years met while Ted, a Marine, served during the Vietnam War.

“It’s emotional for me just because of what people sacrificed,” Renee said, tears welling up in her eyes.

“It means a lot,” said Ted, who is active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1694 in Oregon. “It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there, but it’s appreciation for all the veterans and what they’ve done for our country.”

Just down the street at the parade, Spring Valley resident Rick Houle was selling hats and T-shirts for $15 to benefit the Rear Area Support Foundation, a nonprofit organization that sends care packages to soldiers overseas.

Houle, a Vietnam War veteran who has been designing the military-branded and patriotic T-shirts for the past two years, said he looks forward to meeting fellow soldiers on Veterans Day to “trade jibes.”

“A Navy guy would come along and tell me that the Marines are just a department of the Navy,” Houle said, laughing. “I’d tell him, ‘Yes, the men’s department.’”

For Houle, the parade represented a homecoming he never received when returning from Vietnam.

“People care, which is a blessing we didn’t have in Vietnam,” he said. “The mood was a lot different. It warms my heart to see the nation stand behind the troops now.”

“We never got a welcome home,” said Young Ruff, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Army’s light infantry division. “I feel good these people are giving thanks.”

It’s a lesson many families hoped to impart on their children watching the festivities.

Retired autoworker Ed Van Meter, a 21-year Army veteran, brought his 11-year-old daughter Emily to the parade. The North Las Vegas resident said that while it felt good to share the day with other veterans, it was most important to show his daughter what Veterans Day means to him.

“(I want her) to understand this is a day of recognition for veterans and their service,” said Van Meter, 50.

“It makes me proud to be an American,” said North Las Vegas resident Marnie Brewer, who brought her husband Travis and their 3-year-old daughter Avalyn to the parade for the first time. “I know it sounds generic … I hope she always gives respect to those who have served.”

For Staff Sgt. Katelynn Kapki, who is stationed at Camp Parks in Dublin, Calif., the parade served as a reminder of the sacrifices her family made for the country. The 24-year-old Army Reserve soldier recalled her grandfather serving as a photographer in World War II and her twin sister serving as a medic in Afghanistan.

Although her twin sister, Sgt. Natalie Thomas, has returned to Fort Lewis in Washington, Kapki said she would never forget how worried she felt for her sister while she was serving overseas.

“She got shot at, but as a combat medic, she had to help the troops and civilians,” Kapki said. “She was on some very dangerous missions… it was gut-wrenching.”