Veterans Day held at the Iowa State Fair

ANDREA. JAMES, WE’RE ALONG THE GRAND CONCOURSE WHERE THE PARADE ROLLED THROUGH EARLIER TODAY AND OF THE SEVEN GRANDMA SOULS, WELL, THEY ALL HAD SOMETHING IN COMMON. UNDER THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE OF OLD GLORY. WHAT UNITED EVERYONE IN THE PARADE WAS THAT THEY SERVED. BUT THIS VETERANS DAY PARADE HIGHLIGHTED ONE PARTICULAR GROUP, VETERANS WHO ARE WOMEN. ALL SEVEN GRAND MARSHALS WERE WOMEN, INCLUDING ONE WHO MAY BE THE ONLY WOMAN IN IOWA WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM. MARY ELLEN WHITE SAYS VETERANS ARE TREATED MUCH DIFFERENTLY THESE DAYS. IT’S BITTERSWEET, I GUESS. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN’T REALLY MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME, BUT IT’S GREAT THAT THE VETERANS THAT ARE COMING HOME NOW ARE ALL. ELIZABETH LAVENA WAS ANOTHER ONE OF THE GRAND MARSHALS. SHE SERVED IN IRAQ AND SHE’D LIKE TO SEE MORE FOR WOMEN IN THE MEDICAL CARE THEY RECEIVE. I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT WOMEN ARE VETERANS ALSO. AND SO WE HAVE. SO WE COULD GET BETTER SUPPORT FOR OUR VETERANS AND OUR WOMEN ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE, A MAP ALLOWED VETERANS TO SHOW WHERE THEY SERVED. PINS WERE AVAILABLE FOR EACH OF THE BRANCHES TO SPRINGER NEEDED. A HANDFUL OF PINS. I TELL PEOPLE I WENT FROM HAWAII TO AFGHANISTAN, SO I HAD SEVEN DEPLOYMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND IT WAS A VERY CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT ALL THE DEPLOYMENTS. BUT GERMANY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT BECAUSE I WAS THERE DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE WAR IN 2003 AND 2000, WHEN THE CROWD STOOD, CHEERED AND THANKED ALL VETERANS AS THEY WENT PAST ONE END. AND THE VETERANS WELCOMED THE MOMENT. WE DON’T ALWAYS GET THE RECOGNITION THAT WE DESERVE, BUT WE WANT TO BE RECOGNIZED AS VETERANS. WE DID OUR TIME. AND IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT DAY FOR A PARADE, AT LEAST WHEN IT SET OFF AT 11, HARDLY A SPRINKLE AT ALL. WE’RE LIVE AT THE STATE FAIR. ANDR

Monday was Veterans Day at the Iowa State Fair. This year, all seven grand marshals of the parade were women, including one who may be the only woman in Iowa who served in Vietnam.Mary Ellen White says veterans are treated much differently these days."It's bittersweet, I guess. You know, you can't really make up for lost time, but it's great that the veterans that are coming home now are honored," White said.Elizabeth Ledvina was another one of the grand marshals. She served in Iraq, and she'd like to see more for women in terms of the medical care they receive."I think it's very important to understand that women are veterans also, so we can get better support for our veterans and our women," Ledvina said.Along the parade route, a map allowed veterans to show where they served. Pins were available for each of the branches. Sue Springer needed a handful of pins."I tell people I went from Hawaii to Afghanistan. So I had seven deployments throughout the world, and very challenging throughout all the deployments, but Germany was probably the most difficult because I was there at the height of the war in 2003 and 2005," Springer said.The crowd stood, cheered and thanked all veterans as they went past and the veterans welcomed the moment."We don't always get the recognition that we deserve, but we want to be recognized as veterans. We did our time," Carol Whitmore said.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

Monday was Veterans Day at the Iowa State Fair. This year, all seven grand marshals of the parade were women, including one who may be the only woman in Iowa who served in Vietnam.

Mary Ellen White says veterans are treated much differently these days.

"It's bittersweet, I guess. You know, you can't really make up for lost time, but it's great that the veterans that are coming home now are honored," White said.

Elizabeth Ledvina was another one of the grand marshals. She served in Iraq, and she'd like to see more for women in terms of the medical care they receive.

"I think it's very important to understand that women are veterans also, so we can get better support for our veterans and our women," Ledvina said.

Along the parade route, a map allowed veterans to show where they served. Pins were available for each of the branches. Sue Springer needed a handful of pins.

"I tell people I went from Hawaii to Afghanistan. So I had seven deployments throughout the world, and [it was] very challenging throughout all the deployments, but Germany was probably the most difficult because I was there at the height of the war in 2003 and 2005," Springer said.

The crowd stood, cheered and thanked all veterans as they went past and the veterans welcomed the moment.

"We don't always get the recognition that we deserve, but we want to be recognized as veterans. We did our time," Carol Whitmore said.

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