Austin honors veterans

AUSTIN, Texas-- Wednesday, cities across the country honored our veterans. A large crowd gathered in downtown Austin to do just that at the Veterans Day Parade.

Lloyd Carroll, who is an Iraq War veteran, wants his daughters to value those who give their all for freedom. That's why he brings them year after year to the parade.

“The pride in being a veteran and seeing all this and bringing my little girls,” he said.

Carroll served from 2004 to 2005 in Iraq, but he's heard stories of how Vietnam veterans were welcomed home.

“I remember walking through the airport getting my hand shook by random strangers, people buying me meals, drinks. It was a never-ending thanks. Then you hear stories of what happened to them, it's sad the way our country was toward them,” he said.

Don Dorsey served in that war. “I wasn't crazy about the war but I love my country so that's why I went,” he said.

Maybe not all veterans got a warm welcome home from their wars. The city of Austin and the rest of the country hope to make up for the lost opportunities to do so.

“The truth is, Americans should say thank you every day to our veterans,” Gov.Greg Abbott said.

“It's nice to see that people recognize what we did,” Vincent T. Lake, Desert Storm veteran, said.

Big and small, young and old, faces from all walks of life gathered to show their gratitude for those who risked their lives. Gov. Abbott says we shouldn't just thank vets one day out of the year.

“We know that a single day of pomp and parade is inadequate to truly repay the debt of gratitude we owe,” Abbott said.

Vincent T. Lake has a long bloodline of military service. It's something he's proud of, but believes the country can do better for its veterans.

“Veterans issues don't start and end on today,” he said.

To the veterans, a single day will never be enough to say just how much debt we need to repay.