Parade Again Part of D.C. Remembrance

Well after them came Jewish vets, African American vets and decidedly nonmilitary groups such as the McGogney Elementary School's Double Dutch team: Their fast-pumping feet became blurs in a whirl of jump ropes.

With the nation approaching its fourth year of armed conflict since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, war was uppermost on many people's minds.

"I'm proud of my country because we stand for freedom," said Carolyn Hesson, 71, of Ellicott City. She described herself as a supporter of the war in Iraq. "I just came back from New York and saw Ground Zero, and it's very prominent in my thinking."

Others considered alternatives.

"I'm thinking about peace," said Dorothy A. Walker, an unemployed clerical worker. Walker, 56, in a red and white ensemble topped off with an "I [heart] Jesus" headscarf, said she loved the parade, even though its theme also saddened her.

"Some of these wars are unnecessary -- like Vietnam. Even Iraq was unnecessary. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and still, so many die," she said.

The city's Memorial Day parade was suspended when the country entered World War II, said James C. Roberts, president of the World War II Veterans Committee, which took the lead in organizing the parade.

Last year, however, a parade was part of the four-day military salute that coincided with the dedication of the National World War II Memorial. Hoping to restart the annual tradition, Roberts's group, along with 30 co-sponsors, organized yesterday's $200,000 parade. Organizers estimated that 170 groups marched in front of about 50,000 spectators.

"Every town of any size has one of these. But for the nation's home town not to have these is amazing," Roberts said.