It was a weekend to honor all veterans, but those who fought in Vietnam and the Bay of Pigs got a special salute as they paraded through Downtown Miami.
“We were never welcomed home,” Vietnam veteran Dorthy Smith told CBS Miami on Friday. “So this is the first time after 50-something years that we finally got welcomed home, so we are appreciative of that.”
Several thousand people turned out for the parade, which began at noon down Flagler Street into Bayfront Park, a ceremony and concert honored participants. Check out photos from the event:
Advertisement
AP
Skip Williams, who served in Vietnam from 1971 to 1972, waits for the Golden Veterans Parade to start in Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. The parade was to honor the courage and service of veterans of the Vietnam War, the Bay of Pigs and all wars. The parade was inspired by a recent presidential proclamation designating the next 13 years as the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War to honor the more than 3 million servicemen and women who served during more than a decade of combat in Southeast Asia. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
A member of "Brigada Asalto 2506" waits for the Golden Veterans Parade to start in Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. The unit was a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion landings in Cuba on 17 April 1961. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
AP
Dexter Lehtinen, who was wounded in Vietnam in 1971, carries his old back pack, loaded with old weapons and equipment that he would have carried, marches in the Golden Warriors Parade in Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Advertisement
A Vietnam veteran wears an American flag, the Vietnam combat ribbon, and his 82nd Airborne Division patch before the start of the Golden Veterans Parade, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013 in Miami. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Doc Wolfson, who served in the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam from1967 to 1968, waits for the Golden Veterans Parade to start in downtown Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Carlos Chang and other Vietnam Veterans wait for the start of the Golden Veterans Parade to start in MIami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Advertisement
The side of a SUV was marked to that Golden Veterans Parade was being held in Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Retired Marine Lt. Col. Arthur Slagle watches the Golden Veterans Parade in Miami, Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. He served in Vietnam. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)