The wind was whipping through downtown Fort Worth this Veterans Day, rattling hats and flags alike, but the sentiment behind the Tarrant County parade was unwavering \u2014 today was about honoring those who have served and\u00a0continue\u00a0to serve. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cSaluting Vietnam Veterans,\u201d marked 50 years since that conflict officially ended. And leading the charge was Grand Marshal Army CW4 (Ret.) Doug Petersen, a decorated\u00a0Vietnam veteran whose courage earned him the Congressional Gold Medal last year, among\u00a0a long list\u00a0of military honors including 21 Air Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I arrived just as the Arlington Heights High School Marching Band struck up the \u201cStar Spangled Banner,\u201d and it hit me \u2014 Fort Worth takes this day seriously. The city has been recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Day National Committee as a VA-recognized regional site, a designation that makes this parade not just\u00a0a\u00a0local\u00a0tradition but part of a national celebration of service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor Mattie Parker stepped to the podium, her voice steady despite the gusts. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0an honor to join Fort Worth today for the annual Veterans Day parade. A tradition in our city started more than a century ago,\u201d she said. \u201cOur first gathering was in 1919 to honor those who fought in World War I. Each year since, we carry that gratitude forward. To remember, celebrate, and honor the men and women who have served our nation in uniform.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After reading a proclamation\u00a0honoring\u00a0the\u00a0veterans of Cowtown,\u00a0Parker\u00a0then introduced Petersen, highlighting his remarkable record before he said a few words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank the city of Fort Worth and the\u00a0Tarrant County Veterans Council for this great honor,\u201d Petersen said. \u201cTo\u00a0represent\u00a0all of\u00a0the Vietnam Veterans who\u00a0are here today, I\u00a0wanna\u00a0say two things, welcome home brother,\u00a0and welcome\u00a0home sister. It is truly a great honor to\u00a0be up\u00a0here today. It was quite the\u00a0surprise, actually, to\u00a0represent\u00a0each and every\u00a0one of you,\u00a0and I will do it to the best of my ability.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And\u00a0with that,\u00a0a 21-gun salute marked the beginning of the parade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there, watching the procession unfold, thinking about my own connection to this day.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not a veteran, but my father is. He served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969 \u2014 the years that encompassed the Tet Offensive, a turning point that saw\u00a0nearly 4,000\u00a0U.S. soldiers killed in the main attacks and countless more affected in the chaos that followed. The offensive shocked the American public, undermined support for the war, and shifted the course of history \u2014 yet for my dad, it was about survival, duty, and looking out for the men beside him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remember him telling stories about being drafted, about the helicopter ride (a “hop”)\u00a0he took that changed his orders from a Huey gunner \u2014 a role with a near 50\/50 chance of survival \u2014 to the 297th Transportation Company, where he drove officers around and managed the mailroom for the troops. It was during one of these early flights that he met another Northern New Mexican named\u00a0John\u00a0CdeBaca. \u201cUs Northern New Mexico boys have to stay together and look out for one another,\u201d he recalled\u00a0CdeBaca saying. Those words, delivered\u00a0in\u00a0a foreign land under impossible circumstances, brought tears to my father\u2019s eyes every time he recounted them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The parade passed with its usual spectacle \u2014 marching bands, veterans in crisp uniforms, flags snapping in the wind \u2014 but my mind kept returning to that sense of personal history. Watching the city honor Doug Petersen and all the Vietnam vets, I\u00a0tried to understand\u00a0the weight of service, the bravery in the face of danger, and the quiet sacrifices made by so many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Coming home from Vietnam, my father faced his own battles \u2014 reintegration, finding his footing, and carrying forward lessons learned in a war that left indelible marks on his generation. He\u00a0remains\u00a0my hero, not just for what he endured, but for the example he set. Standing on the parade route in Fort Worth, I found myself offering a quiet, grateful nod to him \u2014 and to all the men and women who fight for our freedom\u00a0daily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
November 11, 2025<\/p>\n
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