By Jennifer Moody
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Sunday, November 11, 2007 12:00 am
ALBANY - Veterans Day always was important to the Sullivan family of Philomath.
Now that two of their 13 children are serving in the Army - along with two sons-in-law - it means even more.
Joe and Holly Sullivan and seven of their children came to the 2007 Veterans Day Parade with signs saying, "Thank You Vets" and a banner that read "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
"We come here every year. We've always wanted to support the troops," Holly Sullivan said.
"We just want to say 'thank you' to them, that's all," she added. "Without them, we wouldn't be able to have these parades."
Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Albany on Saturday to clap and cheer for what has become known as the largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi River.
This year's parade went off on schedule and with about the usual number of marchers and floats, in spite of a flurry of missed registration deadlines and last-minute entries, said organizer Micki Mundt-Darrow.
It also took place under sunny skies, much to the delight of spectators who'd came prepared with umbrellas and pop-up canopies for the more traditional deluge.
Members of the Corvallis branch of Veterans for Peace had a special guest marching with them: Elizabeth Kucinich.
The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said she received an invitation to join the group for Saturday's event and was delighted to accept.
"It's a very important day on the American calendar," said Elizabeth Kucinich, who is British. "Just as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to be here."
Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, was spending the day campaigning in New Jersey, she said.
Elizabeth Kucinich said it was important to her to be at the parade to help spread his message of "true support for the military" by establishing an international security force in Iraq and creating a national health insurance plan.
Leah Bolger, president of the Corvallis branch of Veterans for Peace, said the organization does not endorse presidential candidates but that members support the priorities and values Kucinich has espoused.
She said this is the third year her group has marched in the Albany parade, and each year positive reactions have grown.
"I would attribute that to the fact that the American public wants this war to end," she said. "We want to stop the needless killing in our name and they want their priorities to be listened to."