Brenda Marcus, whose son Shaun Marcus is serving in Iraq and has also been stationed in Fort Hood, the scene of 13 deaths in Thursday's shootings, attended the annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Lufkin Saturday morning with her two granddaughthers — Heaven, 6, and Kennedy, 5.
As Marcus was leaving the parade, which despite good participation was sparsely attended, she was saddened at the lack of people there.
Joel Andrews/The Lufkin Daily News |
The Disabled American Veterans Unit 84 float bear the somber reminder that 'Freedom Isn't Free' in Saturday morning's Veterans Parade in downtown Lufkin.
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"I'm sad that there's not enough people out here. We need more support," Marcus said, while standing with her granddaughters. She said that Shaun also has a 10-month-old boy, Zachary.
Marcus said she feels more can be done to prevent events like the one at Fort Hood.
"I mean, it's your home base and what can you say, it's just horrifying," she said.
"We need to pay more attention to what people are saying and things like this maybe can be prevented," she said in reference to the shooter in Thursday's killings.
Also attending the parade were Carolyn and Wayne McClendon, with Wayne having served in the Army.
Carolyn McClendon said a number of her family members had served in the armed forces.
"My uncle Wilson Funderburk died in World War II and I have a nephew, Terry Johnson, who is in the Marines in North Carolina and is supposed to go to Afghanistan in January," she said. "I also had a brother (Jim Ramsey) who retired from the Army after 17 years and served in Vietnam. He flew and was shot down five times, but survived. I loved to hear him tell stories about it."
"I've lost a lot of good friends and Veterans Day is a way for them to be remembered," Wayne McClendon said.
Ken Cunigan, of Lufkin, said he's always liked attending the Veterans Day parade and was impressed with the number of people in the parade. "There's a lot of people here that I know," said Cunigan, who served in the Air Force in Alaska, Taiwan, Portland and on special assignment at the American Embassy in London, before retiring in 1974.
"I wish everybody liked to come out and show support for the veterans and I'm hoping everyone really does appreciate what they've done, because without them we wouldn't be here," Cunigan said.
