Blog post

St. Louis Welcomes Home IAVA Heroes
Posted by Timothy Kudo on January 31

Give every Iraq and Afghanistan vet the welcome home they deserve. Join IAVA in calling for a national event to honor the 2.4 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Add your name to our petition.

On Saturday, January 28th, IAVA members came out in St. Louis for the Welcome Home the Heroes Parade to honor veterans of Iraq. IAVA local leader Angela Peacock led the IAVA element of 30 IAVA members from all over the region and three trucks marched down the streets of St. Louis. IAVA members came as far away as Montana to participate. IAVA was also presented the Saint Louis County Proclamation by County Executive, Charlie Dooley and received support from Congressman Russ Carnahan.

“When we walked up and people saw our banner I've never been surrounded by so many people shouting, clapping, screaming in my life, There's a lot of love out here for IAVA. I heard "I LOVE YOU!" "WELCOME HOME" "WE MISSED YOU" “GOD BLESS" –Local Leader Angela Peacock

IAVA members joined nearly 600 other veterans who represented the over 1 million veterans who served in Iraq over the past 8 years. These veterans were greeted by nearly 100,000 parade goers holding signs and cheering on the parade. The last US troops left Iraq on December 18th 2011. The parade itself was organized by two St. Louis locals, neither of which had served in the military but decided that the troops deserved a parade so they organized one on Facebook.

Get Involved

In just the last year, IAVA has connected hundreds of veterans with employers through innovative career fairs, helped over 10,000 veterans go to college on the New GI Bill, and provided mental health support to over 50,000 veterans—all at no cost to Member Veterans. Programs like these are only made possible through your generous support. Fight for those who fought for us and help us keep these resources and benefits completely free for new veterans and their families. DONATE >>

Not an IAVA member yet? What are you waiting for?! IAVA Member Veterans get access to exclusive career fairs, events and tickets. Join up today--membership is free and all you have to do is submit proof of OIF/OND/OEF status.