CRESTVIEW — Members of Crestview and Baker's high school Junior ROTC battalions said parading with American veterans is humbling.
And it's a chance to reflect on their future roles in defending the nation.
Click here or see photos from the event.
"It's a great honor to be able to represent the younger generation of soldiers, and I hope to someday be like our veterans," Crestview High JROTC junior Justin Rost said.
"It makes me think about what can happen to me in the future," his comrade, Grace Patterson, said. "One day, I might be a veteran myself with stories, too."
While Grace is deciding if a military career is for her, Justin wants to combine his family's traditions of military service and firefighting.
"I want to join the Air Force and become a firefighter," like his grandfather, Crestview Fire Chief Joe Traylor, he said.
WAR STORIES
For many honorees, being among fellow veterans was an opportunity to share stories.
Laurel Hill resident Mickey Givens' and his brothers may have set a record for most active duty siblings from one family during World War II.
"When I went in the Navy in 1944, my seven brothers were already there," he said. "They were scattered all over the world. That's a record. There were eight of us."
One Givens brother was stationed aboard the USS "Juneau," a light cruiser, with the famous Sullivan brothers. An injury sent him to a stateside hospital while the cruiser continued to the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where all five "Fighting Sullivans" died when the ship was torpedoed and sank.
Master Sgt. Conrad Rhoades, an Air Force retiree, recalled traveling aboard a cramped troop ship to fight in the Korean Conflict.
"Laying in my canvas bunk, I could reach out and touch 10 other guys," he said. "We were squeezed in there. And even tied up to the dock guys got seasick. When you ate, you held your metal tray with both hands because the guy across the table might get sick and you had to yank it away."
Rhoades remembered the joy that swept the ship when the end of the war was announced.
"I was aboard the troop ship when the war ended," he said. "Six miles away, you could've heard it when they announced the war was over. Four-thousand of us were on that ship."
The ship was diverted from its course to Korea and took the soldiers to Japan instead, where Rhoades served the rest of his duty years.
DIVERSE SUPPORTERS
Local supporters paraded up Main Street to honor Rhoades, Givens and their comrades in the annual parade, which Crestview's VFW post organized.
Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman Nathan Boyles served as grand marshal.
Marching groups included Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotarians, Elks, the Shoal River Mustang Club, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Crestview fire and police departments, and Crestview High School, Baker School and Shoal River Middle School marching bands.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview residents thank veterans with downtown parade (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)