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CNN Live Today
Towns Mark Memorial Day With Parades
Aired May 26, 2003 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to Dacula, Georgia now. There was a big Memorial Day parade there with a special grand marshal.
Jennifer Coggiola is there. Tell us about it.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, everyone has gone home, started those barbecues, but there was quite a crowd lining the streets to see the man of the day, and that was former Iraq war POW Ron Young.
He was greeted with tons of applause, standing ovations, people trying to give him a high five. Actually excited that he was in a convertible rather than a Humvee as we originally thought, so people could really get a good look at his face and give him a warm welcome home.
Now, besides Young, we did have about 90 entrants here in this small town of about 3,000 people. We had everything from high school bands to classic cars, high school sports teams, cheer leading teams, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, an equestrian team. It was quite a turnout. They say there were about 6,000 people here, but Young certainly stole the day. He was the man of the hour. Apparently, he was on special leave just so that he could attend the parade. He was supposed to be in Fort Hood last Friday, but they let him stick around so he could come here to Dacula to celebrate with these people -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And I'm sure, Jennifer, the people of Dacula were very happy about that. Thank you very much.
Let's go live to Elm Hurst, Illinois, the site of another Memorial Day parade. Jeff Flock is there. I see there are some people still behind you.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. We're still cooking here -- in fact, another hour or so they say. This is a good, long parade. And this is a year -- some years it rains. Chicago has got kind of quirky weather, but they have really got a lot of folks out here, and you can see a lot of red, white, and blue off there behind me.
What better place to be than in a lawn chair or on a blanket alongside -- this town, the main streets, the various main streets of the town. It is called a "Day of Remembrance." That is the theme of this year's parade, and about 90 different floats and all sorts of folks contributing to this one. A special memorial day. It is funny, we just saw a little bit ago an old time military World War II vintage half-track that went by. Sort of something from the second world war, but it was a big banner over the top of it that said, "We win again," so...
COSTELLO: What the heck is a vintage half-track, Jeff?
FLOCK: Well, I was going to say. I guess they don't make half- tracks anymore, so I guess they would all be vintage, wouldn't they? Thanks for catching me on that one -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jeff Flock. You're a lot of fun today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 26, 2003 - 11:48 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to Dacula, Georgia now. There was a big Memorial Day parade there with a special grand marshal.
Jennifer Coggiola is there. Tell us about it.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, everyone has gone home, started those barbecues, but there was quite a crowd lining the streets to see the man of the day, and that was former Iraq war POW Ron Young.
He was greeted with tons of applause, standing ovations, people trying to give him a high five. Actually excited that he was in a convertible rather than a Humvee as we originally thought, so people could really get a good look at his face and give him a warm welcome home.
Now, besides Young, we did have about 90 entrants here in this small town of about 3,000 people. We had everything from high school bands to classic cars, high school sports teams, cheer leading teams, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, an equestrian team. It was quite a turnout. They say there were about 6,000 people here, but Young certainly stole the day. He was the man of the hour. Apparently, he was on special leave just so that he could attend the parade. He was supposed to be in Fort Hood last Friday, but they let him stick around so he could come here to Dacula to celebrate with these people -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And I'm sure, Jennifer, the people of Dacula were very happy about that. Thank you very much.
Let's go live to Elm Hurst, Illinois, the site of another Memorial Day parade. Jeff Flock is there. I see there are some people still behind you.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. We're still cooking here -- in fact, another hour or so they say. This is a good, long parade. And this is a year -- some years it rains. Chicago has got kind of quirky weather, but they have really got a lot of folks out here, and you can see a lot of red, white, and blue off there behind me.
What better place to be than in a lawn chair or on a blanket alongside -- this town, the main streets, the various main streets of the town. It is called a "Day of Remembrance." That is the theme of this year's parade, and about 90 different floats and all sorts of folks contributing to this one. A special memorial day. It is funny, we just saw a little bit ago an old time military World War II vintage half-track that went by. Sort of something from the second world war, but it was a big banner over the top of it that said, "We win again," so...
COSTELLO: What the heck is a vintage half-track, Jeff?
FLOCK: Well, I was going to say. I guess they don't make half- tracks anymore, so I guess they would all be vintage, wouldn't they? Thanks for catching me on that one -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jeff Flock. You're a lot of fun today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
