Old and young veterans, and lots of schoolchildren, gathered Tuesday for a variety of events in Southwest Colorado for Veterans Day .
The Veterans Day Parade in downtown Durango featured classic cars, lots of horse-drawn wagons, and veterans from World War II to the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.
Bayfield Middle School students invited veterans to lunch, and members of the BMS advanced orchestra played an Armed Forces tribute.
Katelyn Koerner, an eighth-grade student, recited the poem "I Have a Rendezvous with Death" by Alan Seeger, who died in World War I.
Navy veteran Jim Sower said he was honored to have been invited to the event. He served in two cruises of Asia during the Vietnam War.
One veteran addressed the gathered students and said most of his fellow veterans aren't famous, they just served because they thought it was the right thing to do, "so this country could be what it is today."
Army veteran Mike Wnorowkski said he was pleased to attend the event with his stepson, Eli Monyek.
The Ignacio School District hosted a special community dinner Tuesday night at the middle school for veterans, as well.
