Boy Scout troop rallies people to attend St. Louis Veteran's Parade on Saturday

By Alex Fees

KSDK -- Over the past few years, St. Louis special events organizers say participation in and attendance at the annual Veteran's Day Parade has been thin, at best.

St. Louis Special Events Director Ann Chance says that event has experienced a bit of a comeback, at least in participation, recently.

"It's gone up. And we were a little worried, this year; the last couple years. A lot of parades are seeing a decrease in the number of people that are participating in parades, because they're worried about costs to their organization and that kind of thing," Chance said. "But we actually have seen an increase. We have more groups that are involved."

Some Americans much younger than veterans are working to increase attendance at the parade as well. Boy Scout Troop 310 at Henry School in St. Louis County has made it their mission.

Stephen Wyatt, 15, is a member of Troop 310.

"This is the first year we are involved in the Veteran's Day Parade, but we saw the need for more people to respect all our veterans," Wyatt said. "Everything American is our veterans. All we can do is come out here and support our troops. It's the least we can do."

Mike O'Neil is an assistant scoutmaster.

"Recently we've heard from some veterans who have become disillusioned with this parade," said O'Neil. "I've heard from some veterans who say they may not want to participate in this parade anymore."

The Boy Scouts of Troop 310 aim to change that.

"There's 60,000 young people that we reach. And we want every one of them and their friends and family to come and watch," Wyatt said.

Veterans like Skip Berger, who served in Vietnam, appreciate the effort.

"God bless them," Berger said. "It's wonderful to see them get involved in it, and be behind it."

The parade begins at 12:00 p.m. at 14th Street and Olive Street.