Tulsa Honors Veterans At 97th Annual Veterans Day Parade

Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Tulsa Friday to honor our nation's military on Veterans Day.

"I'm just a very patriotic person, have always been," said veteran Bruce Ford.

Friday is about veterans like Ford, who served two tours in Vietnam through the U.S. Navy.

"Our days were about 20 hours, which were easy compared to the guys on the shore," he said.

And men like Thomas Lee Cook, who went from the halls of Tulsa Central High School to serving on a Navy ship in World War II.

"I went, 'Man, they're sending everything they've got. We're gonna get it.' All of a sudden, they come on the speaker and say Japan surrendered," Cook said.

Thousands came together in the streets of downtown Tulsa to honor our veterans and current military members - many of whom marched alongside high school ROTC programs to the tune of patriotic music.

11/10/2016 Related Story: 10,000 Expected To Attend 97th Annual Tulsa Veterans Day Parade

Veterans we talked with said it was humbling and moving to see how much appreciation our community has for them.

Ford said, "You see this many people here celebrating and, in the past, it may have been to protest."

"Just makes you think what a great country America is, and we really did what had to be done," said Cook.

Elementary schools brought kids to honor the vets. They hope they're learning to love their country and to inspire a new generation to serve.

"Classes, you can only teach so much of any one given subject, but I think this is giving them a sense of being patriotic," Ford said.

This was the 97th year for the parade.