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Veteran's Day Celebrations Start Early This Year

DENVER (CBS4) - Veteran's Day is Friday but celebrations started early this year. Hundreds of people came out for the parade on Saturday in Denver.

People lined the streets downtown cheering on the many veterans marching in this year's Veteran's Day parade.

"We want to be sure that we recognize everybody who died and all those that are still fighting for us. It's a very important day actually," Ronnie Kline said.

It's even more important to the veterans marching in the parade. Lloyd Chavez fought in the Koren War in 1953.

"We don't want people to forget the wars that we fight," Chavez said.

The parade is historical for members of the gay and lesbian community. Luiza Fritz was discharged after being outed as a lesbian. She and other gays are marched proudly.

"To walk in this parade and say I'm proud and I'm gay and I served; other service members who are active duty can say, 'I'm gay and I'm still in the military without being discharged,' " Fritz said.

After the parade many people ended up at the Veteran Memorial Wall to honor not just living veterans but ones that died fighting for our country.

"There's a good friend of mine on that down there," veteran Mike Yost said.

It was a happy yet sad day for some of the people as they etched the names of a lost military member whose name is memorialized on the wall. Each name represents the pride they have for all our veterans.

"That's why we do what we do. That's why we went to war. That's why we defend this country. I'd still defend it today if called upon," veteran Richard Stockton said.

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