Members of the Women Marines Association make their way down Broadway during Denver’s Memorial Day Parade in May 2014. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post file)
Re: “Denver’s Memorial Day Parade misstep,” May 24 guest commentary.
I commend City Council president, West Point graduate and Army veteran Chris Herndon for his guest commentary. For those who honor the men and women who have sacrificed for our freedom, Denver tripped up long ago.
For years I have attended Memorial Day parades and Veterans Day parades to honor those who served, some giving all. Sadly, not many people lined the streets to observe the occasions. Neither the city nor the media promoted the events. No wonder so few came. When John Hickenlooper was mayor, I wrote twice to ask for the bully pulpit to herald the Veterans Day parade, with not even the courtesy of a reply.
In May 2014, I sought information for the Memorial Day parade. The one-paragraph notation on the city’s website to commemorate those who had served was wrong in both time of parade and location of tribute, and was superseded by rock events (with picture) downtown on the weekend. The next week, I attended Mayor Michael Hancock’s “Cabinet in the Community” with the foolish notion that attendees could participate in a community conversation. No public discussion was allowed.
Denver, we can do better than that for the men and women who served and sacrificed so that we can live free.
Barbara Fallon, Denver
This letter was published in the May 29 edition.
