Vietnam veteran Calixto Cabrera, left, his dog Juma, and Vietnam veteran Larry Bewley represented the Vietnam Era Veterans Association on Saturday in the Veterans Day parade on Main Avenue.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
Cub Scout Pack 502 marches in the Veterans Day parade on Saturday along Main Avenue.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
Members of the Vietnam Era Veterans Association, holding a sign that reads, “Vets against the next war,” march in the Veterans Day parade on Saturday along Main Avenue.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
The Westwind Pipe Band play “You’re a Grand Old Flag” on the bagpipes during the Veterans Day parade on Saturday.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
The Cannondolls perform Saturday afternoon in the Transit Center parking lot as part of a celebration honoring veterans and acknowledging first responders who fought the Lightner Creek Fire.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
A crowd gathers in the Transit Center parking lot to watch the Cannondolls perform as part of a celebration honoring veterans and acknowledging first responders who fought the Lightner Creek Fire.
Mia Rupani/Durango Herald
The city of Durango sets off fireworks on Saturday evening on Veterans Day. The fireworks had been held over from the Fourth of July because of dry conditions and the Lightner Creek Fire was burning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
The city of Durango sets off fireworks on Saturday evening on Veterans Day. The fireworks had been held over from the Fourth of July because of dry conditions and the Lightner Creek Fire was burning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
The city of Durango sets off fireworks on Saturday evening on Veterans Day. The fireworks had been held over from the Fourth of July because of dry conditions and the Lightner Creek Fire was burning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
The city of Durango sets off fireworks on Saturday evening on Veterans Day. The fireworks had been held over from the Fourth of July because of dry conditions and the Lightner Creek Fire was burning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
The city of Durango sets off fireworks on Saturday evening on Veterans Day. The fireworks had been held over from the Fourth of July because of dry conditions and the Lightner Creek Fire was burning.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Vietnam veteran Larry Bewley is outspokenly anti-war.
Bewley served four years in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. On Saturday morning, he marched alongside his fellow servicemen in the Veterans Day parade on Main Avenue, which was lined with spectators.
“We don’t believe war is a good thing,” he said. “We do not think others should go and be killed.”
Bewley is a member of the Vietnam Era Veterans Association, along with Calixto Cabrera, who served twice in Vietnam.
Veterans in the parade representing VEVA carried a sign that read, “Vets against the next war.”
“We are teetering on the edge of another major war,” Cabrera said. “And this time, this one might be nuclear.”
Marvin Giersch with the Knights of Columbus said he received his physical but was never drafted for the Korean War.
He said Veterans Day, like most holidays, is becoming increasingly more commercialized.
“It is losing its true meaning like Christmas,” Giersch said. “We had a great turnout at the parade and I am pleased. By having this parade, we bring about the importance of this day.”
Other groups in the parade included Cub Scout Pack 502, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4031 and Westwind Pipe Band.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to our policies
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
