Springfield (KMTR) - The rain held off at this year's Springfield Veterans Day parade.
Soldiers, past and present, came from all over Lane County to participate in Sunday’s early event.
Children sat on the sidewalk with American flags waving as floats and people passed by.
NewsSource 16's Joseph cal breath—an Air Force veteran—was the host of the parade, as veterans made their way through the streets of Springfield, starting at 28th and Olympic and moving down Mohawk Blvd.
The parade came days after the shooting deaths in Fort Hood, Texas, making the day more emotional for some veterans, like Army veteran Wade Woolard.
“It brought everything into focus, you know, Veterans Day, honoring our fallen veterans … those serving overseas and in harm’s way,” Woolard said.
Navy veteran Nolan Nelson agreed, “There are a lot of guys that we served with who didn't come back. And they're the heroes. But we did, and so we serve as a reminder of what it means to serve your nation."
The parade was just the start for one group of Oregon military veterans who are heading to Washington D.C. to perform at a Veterans Day event hosted by the First Lady.
“The Telling Project" was started by the University of Oregon's Veterans and Families Student Association as a way for veterans to share their military stories; to share their experiences with more people.
Organizers say it’s become a big success. The project has also become the base for similar projects at other universities.
“It was nice for me,” said Jason Alves of The Telling Project. “It gave me an opportunity to tell my story, and that excitement of me finding out how I can validate my story. I really wanted to take it to everybody else, so to see it go on a national scale. It’s really exciting to see that opportunity grow to that large a scale. I mean, there's a lot of veterans out there that we can reach that'll be able to finally tell their stories."
The project will stream the Washington event live on the University of Oregon Web site on Wednesday, Veterans Day, starting at 11:00 a.m.
