I love and honor our troops but frankly I think they want to get to the embrace of their families and communities.

Maybe I'm wrong. Iraq combat war veterans please let me know what you feel.

I am a Vietnam veteran. Not only were the Viet vets not thanksed for their service, we were acvtually attacked , spat upon and called 'warmongers'.

I was drafted but felt that I had a duty to serve and I met that duty. However, the returning vets are volunteers and we should say 'thank you' and try to get them a job. No parade is warranted.

Viet Nam veterans were treated awfully. With that said, there is no reason not to thank the Iraq veterans. I think a VI Day parade would be fine !

I and my wife are both Iraq veterans, and honestly, save the money for something useful. Coming home alive to our familys was all the celebration we needed. Just remember if you are an employer and a vet applies for a job with you, give them a little consideration. a lot of us spent all our adult lives as soldiers, so we don't have maybe the schooling and are maybe a little older, but we know how to work, follow orders, and be on time.

I don't think there should be a parade. We are still at war, not to mention the given condition that Iraq is in now it's no reason to celebrate. I am proud of our service men and women for serving and glad to have them home but too many people are still at war to celebrate.

Since the Korean war vets and Viet Nan war vets are still waiting for their welcome home parade - or at the very least acknowledgment - the Iraqi vets should not feel slighted.

If there is a parade why don't we just have a parade to appreciate the ones who came home alive and to publicly, as a country, mourn those who did not. That way its just about saying thank you to our wonderful military.

Give them each a TEN THOUSAND DOLLAR CHECK And a thank you letter.Money talks and bull sh-t walks.Show them the money because they dam well deserve it.

Will Cheney and Bush Lead the parade with all the WMD they found??

Forget the parade; invest in their retraining for civilian life. In 1970 it took me a
long time to find a job. After discharge you have to start all over and support
is crucial. It’s not easy making the transformation. God bless them.

Look, the thing is in retrospect we should never have been in Iraq in the first place. That being said, the fact that we did go over there, depose their dictator, and made the place safer to live (I know that's arguable, but let's consider how it was under Hussein). The fact that it is still a mess is not OUR fault, in my mind it is the Iraqi's fault fo not getting their own sh*t together fast enough. For those of you who said we shouldn't have left, how much longer did they need us there? We could've stayed forever and the place would never be truly safe. We did what we had to do, we did our best to prepare them to run their own country, and we left. I absolutely think these brave souls, most of whom also didn't agree with why we were there, be given the heroes' welcome they richly deserve. It's all well and good to say "save the money" but if it is funded privately, as was the Iraq war parade, then why not? Our politicians sent these men and women to the middle of nowhere to fight a war they concocted, not the troops. Whatever your feelings about the war, we should give them the welcome they deserve.

This is what happens with a Muslim-in-Chief who despises America! I want my country back!!!

viet nam era vet, $90 a month, men and woman getting killed, they spat at us, riot,s, in berkeley, most of the comment dont want a parade, we never got a write up when a man or woman vet got killed, we served, and came back home to our loved one, not a parade, god bless america

What the hell ever. This article smells of @!$%# stirring.I agree our troops deserve a better homecoming but Most of America isn't even aware of the situation our troops are in. They can tell you who is having sex with the Kardashians though. Wake up.

As a Vietnam Vet, I always felt we were young adults that watched the John Wayne movies. Seeing the huge parades of World War II vets returning. We didn't learn that much of the Korean War. I really didn't know what to expect coming back. It took me years to fiqure things out. Wars change a person's personally alot. This is something our government needs to understand. A two week training for every soldier coming back from a war zone is needed of this personality change. A drug test is needed, not too punish, but to help that soldier. Way too many ended up on our streets homeless with problems with drugs. These wars screw up alot of minds.I'm sure most Vietnam Vets experienced what I did. I got off my plane at Travis Air Force Base, caught a cab to the airport. Went home for a couple of weeks and sent to my next assignment. Never once was I checked out by a doctor or a briefing. The one's that were drafted, I'm sure they went directly back home in civilian life with no screening of their mental condition. A parade isn't needed, but a system is needed on screening all soldiers coming back from a war zone. If anything, it would solve many divorces.

I thank all of the vets with or without a parade

I believe that we should save the little money that we have to minister to the needs of the vets coming home. What good is a parade when they find that there are no jobs for them, except for another war which seems to be on the horizon, or for the medical care that many will need?

Since they can't be tried and convicted for war crimes, Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Bolton and Wolfowitz should at least hold a press conference and offer a public apology and prayer for the 4,500 good Americans who died in Iraq, the hundreds of soldiers who were injured and maimed for life and for all the futures they destroyed. These criminals have done NOTHING since leaving office to help and honor those they so bravely ordered into combat. Now, some are enjoying a rich retirement, writing memoirs, and making a lot of money. When was the last time they visited a VA hospital or laid flowers on a veterans' grave? These people deserve no respect or admiration.

Let's get the homeless vets off the streets, the troubled vets into treatment, the rest of our soldiers out of Afghanistan, and all the vets into jobs first. Then we'll have something to celebrate.

As a Veteran myself of Desert Shield/Storm (I know, nothing even close to what these people faced, or others before me from Vietnam/Korea), I can say for myself, I never wanted any parades and such. All I wanted was to be home with my family alive.

While I served in the Gulf, my son took his first steps, spoke his first words, and had his first birthday and Thanksgiving and Christmas without me. These are things I will never get back.

I don't ask for anything special, just common courtesy and respect and to not see Military funerals protested (I am a VFW Life Member and on the Honor Guard at my post) or the Serviceman/woman disrespected under the very rights I fought to protect for them.

Just remember, your right to voice your opinion was bought and paid for with the blood of those willing to sacrifice all they had to give it to you. Remember that the next time you voice your opinion against them. If you have a problem with where our Military is deployed and what conflicts we are involved in, take it up with the Government who makes the rules. The Military just follows them.

In closing, God Bless everyone that served, Welcome home to those that are returning, and my greatest thanks, prayers and adulation to all my Brothers and Sisters that didn't come home.

Instead of a parade how about we give them JOBS. Corporations won't hire them unless they get a tax break. And not a minimum wage job, one that they can sustain their families on. Hey Perry, how 'bout it?

A parade for what? What would we be celebrating? A stable, peaceful Iraq? The end of the terrorist threat? The brewing civil war that we left behind? The installation of another would-be dictator as President of Iraq? Preparing the way for Iran to turn Iraq into its satellite nation? The elimination of those massive stockpiles of non-existent weapons of mass destruction? Rather than a parade, there ought to be a protest. This war was a waste; we don't need another one!

Because of the Republicans intense desire to see President Obama fail, our Troops are coming home to McJobs.

Military retirees have just had their Healthcare Promise eroded even further because of Republicans sitting on their hands while Congressman continue to get Handsome Government Salaries and Gold plated Benefits.

God bless them all for fighting "baby" Bush's war against WMD. I am sad for the loss of life involved.

Nothing but a photo op for republican a**holes. I'm glad they are back, just wish they were ALL back and that W and his cronies would pay for their crimes.