ST. LOUIS, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Thousands of people cheered Saturday in St. Louis as veterans of Iraq marched in the first big-city parade to honor them since the official U.S. pullout.
Tom Appelbaum, an organizer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the parade "pretty much matches what I would have expected." Veterans traveled the parade route on foot, on motorcycles and on floats, CNN reported, as cheering crowds held up "Welcome Home" signs.
The "Welcome Home the Heroes" Parade included 83 floats and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.
A vigil began at 9:11 p.m. Friday with volunteers reading the names of those killed in Afghanistan and Iraq at the Soldiers Memorial, the Post-Dispatch said.
On Saturday, a "resource village" to put veterans in touch with available services was held at Union Station.
Two New York City Council members are urging Mayor Michael Bloomberg to have a parade to welcome home veterans.
