By james art 
The Idaho Veterans Parade was the largest in the parade’s history with more than 150 boats and people lining the sidewalks around the capitol to show their support for veterans.
“It’s very touching for me to see all these people come out to honor us,” said Bob Piazza, a Navy veteran who served during Vietnam. Bob is also the parade chairman. “I mean, the support that the community gives is really huge.
Support has come from all over the Treasure Valley and beyond with high school bands, organizations, clubs and people of all ages showing their support. This includes the people who line the sidewalks with homemade signs.
“We love our veterans, they serve us,” Jason Bish said. “We are proud of them and grateful for our country,” added his mother, Annette.
As Veterans Day approaches, I always try to talk to Vietnam or Korean War veterans. Their efforts have made it so that our generation of veterans will be treated much differently than they were when they returned home.
“We’re just veterans, we just went where we had to go. We didn’t have to come home for any of that stuff,” Michael Weir, a U.S. Army veteran who now serves as commander of the Middleton VFW. “We just did what we had to do, did our job and did it the best way possible. It’s nice to be congratulated for that, I appreciate that.”
The Idaho Veterans Parade is held every year on the first Saturday in November because it coincides with Idaho National Guard Weekend. Because of this, there was a flyover of Blackhawk helicopters, we saw an Abrams tank and other military machines.
This year’s parade also marks the 20th anniversary of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team’s deployment to Iraq. It was the first time the entire brigade deployed together on an 18-month mission that included soldiers from Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.