Grove Memorial, Parade Honor Sacrifice Made By Military Veterans
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Friday morning veterans honored veterans at the annual Coconut Grove Veterans Day Parade and Celebration.
Before the parade, American Legion Post 182 held a Memorial Remembrance Ceremony at the Charlotte Jane Memorial Cemetery, the final resting place for a number of Americans who gave their lives in service of this country.
John Sasnette, who served during the Vietnam war, said remembering those who served is something everyone should do.
"Freedom is not cheap, there's a price," he said.
Sasnette said many of his fellow vets were there for the Tet Offensive, surprise attacks launched by the Viet Cong rebel forces and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam. It was one of the largest, and bloodiest, campaigns of the war.
"Everything around us was exploding, everything. It was hell, it was something I wouldn't recommend anybody go through what I went through," said Donald Clark who finds it still too difficult to talk about.
The images still haunt him.
"Some lost their arms, others their legs, some had their whole insides were all blown up," he said
Remembering the service and sacrifice of those who died in their efforts to keep America safe is the reason why the veterans hold their annual parade and memorial ahead of Veteran's Day.