(Louis Casiano, Houston Chronicle)
Thousands of supporters lined the streets of downtown Saturday afternoon, cheering and waving American flags to show their appreciation for Iraq veterans at a welcome home parade.
The parade, one of the few held since St. Louis hosted the nation’s first in January, kicked off on San Jacinto at 4 p.m., making its way down Texas before turning on Crawford and ending at Minute Maid Park. Mayor Annise Parker and other local leaders opened the parade and marched alongside the hundreds of veterans.
“This is incredible,” said Tony Solomon, Iraq veteran and vice president of operations for the Lone Star Veterans Association. “It all comes back to you about being an American and everything you fought for and seeing all these civilians here and the color guard and the city behind you, it’s a great feeling.”
The nonprofit association helps veterans transition into civilian life after deployment.
(Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Jobless Veterans Becoming Less Common (KRIV 26 News)
- More Women Vets are Homeless, But Housing Scarce (Houston Chronicle)
- Soldier Dad Surprises Son at Local School (KTRK 13 News)
- The Army Chaplain: A Kind Of Mission Specialist (KUHF Public Radio)
- HISD Up for Top Education Prize (Houston Chronicle)
- Texas School Closings Rare, But Should They Be? (KUHF Public Radio)
OPINIONS ON THE NEWS:
Veterans Return Home to New Challenges
- To Iraq War Veterans: Thank You
(Patricia Kilday Hart, Houston Chronicle)
” ‘There’s never a wrong way to say thank you.’ ” Especially in this era, when only 1 percent of Americans are directly connected to someone in active military service. That simple fact means most of us have gone on with our lives since 9/11 without a hiccup, while military families have endured unrelenting deployments, unprecedented injuries or the death of a loved one. - A Good Education With the G.I. Bill
(Editorial,New York Times)
“The G.I. Bill Consumer Awareness Act seeks to ensure that veterans enter school and training programs armed with useful information: data about things like the true cost of student loans, how credits they earn may be transferred, dropout and job-placement rates, how well a program will prepare them for a job or for earning a professional license or certification, and what wages they might expect.“