Spirit Of America Not Dead In Denver, Colorado State Parade of Honor This Saturday

"It's time we as citizens stand up and not wait for another 9/11 and recognize those who are working on a daily basis to preserve our rights as citizens"


Frank Young has coordinated the first Colorado State Parade of Honor which starts at 10am on Saturday in downtown. Young was at the Colorado Veterans Monument at Broadway between Colfax and 14th Avenue on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. This is where the parade will conclude with its reviewing stand. Young stands next to the Colorado Liberty Bell a replica of the original Liberty Bell. The parade which will have over 8,000 participants will honor people in the military, active and veterans, and also firefighters and law enforcement officials. (Post / Cyrus McCrimmon)

When news first broke that the Vietnam War Memorial had been damaged by vandals, hope for America's future became a little dimmer. But people like Denver's Frank Young, single-handedly organizing the Colorado State Parade of Honor to pay tribute to American's veterans in the military and law enforcement/firefighting stirs emotion and rekindles a love for country and respect for those willing to assume the duties that the rest of us take for granted (and for those who can't make DC's anti-moonbat Gathering of Eagles):

It's not as if Frank Young woke up one morning and, on a whim, decided to single-handedly put on a parade that would celebrate everyday heroes, cost six figures and tie up downtown Denver traffic for hours.

He gave it a lot of thought first.

"We were kicking around ideas of how we could honor all our veterans, our firefighters," Young said.

By "we," he's including his fellow volunteers at the philanthropic organization he co-founded, Trinity Community Services Foundation.

That was in January. By the end of February, the idea had crystallized, and on March 1, he sat down at his desk at Trinity headquarters - the converted lobby of a one-time motor lodge called the Doll House on West Colfax Avenue - and dialed the mayor's office.

The Colorado State Parade of Honor, featuring local military groups, law enforcement squads, rescue teams and, of course, marching bands, is set to begin winding through downtown at 10 a.m. Saturday. The event will be a new endeavor for the 3-year-old Trinity group, which ordinarily focuses its efforts on needy veterans, battered women and terminally ill children.

But it is a venture that has come to consume the 55-year-old Young and his considerable energies.

"It's time we as citizens stand up and not wait for another 9/11 and recognize those who are working on a daily basis to preserve our rights as citizens," he said.

Six months, dozens of meetings, a fistful of permits and $180,000 after he started, Young says he has lined up 238 marching units, arranged a military-jet flyover and secured Lee Greenwood - the John Wayne of country music - as grand marshal.

We'll have pics/video of Saturday's parade.