CLAREMORE, Okla. — On this day set aside to honor America’s veterans, people lined the streets of Claremore to cheer for them.
As the bands played and children waved American flags, the annual Claremore Veteran's Day parade drew thousands of people from across Green Country.
They gathered as families and alone to honor veterans.
A member of America’s Greatest Generation, Paul Perryman was named Grand Marshal of the Claremore parade.
"I was a T-5. Almost a corporal," World War II veteran Paul Perryman said with a chuckle.
Now 101 years old, Perryman is one of the few remaining soldiers from World War II.
He told 2 News' Karen Larsen that his brother enlisted a year before he did and was a paratrooper. Perryman served on the front lines in Germany.
"They was on the run and we were right after them. And I was there for 39 days,” said Perryman. "It took a lot of lives."
No matter which war, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Afghanistan, or how many decades have passed, these veterans all share a powerful connection.
"Anything that they see that they need to do, they do it," said Ken Rinehart, a US Army veteran who served in the Korean War.
He and his fellow veterans also share heartbreaking memories of the battlefield.
"There's no words that can tell what it is,” said Rinehart.
Johnny Messimore was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and remembers, “In 1971 when I come home, they called me baby killer. Now, they want to call me a hero. I don't think I've deserved either one."
They put aside haunting memories on a beautiful November day, marking their sacrifice in a state where the flag flies high. Here, Americans celebrate the courage, bravery, and dedication of those who gave their all.
"It's a brotherhood and a kinship that we all share, and it will be forever," Messimore added.
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