BROWNSVILLE TURNS OUT TO HONOR U.S. FALLEN VETS

A record number of marchers came out in force on Central Boulevard to participate in the Silent March in honor of their fallen veterans.

As a steady drizzle fell on the participants, the color guard of the Veterans of Foreign wars and the American Legion raised the enormous flag and the Vietnam Veterans fired off a 21-gun salute against the backdrop of the monument to Jose Lopez, Brownsville's own Medal of Honor winner. Holding a prominent place in the flag-raising ceremony were the relatives of Kristan Menchaca, the Army soldier who was tortured and killed by Iraqi insurgents in 2006.Former Army General Al Cisneros spoke to the participants and lauded the courage and sacrifice of the nation's fallen veterans, and the dead who originated in South Texas. Cisneros, until his retirement, was in charge of U.S. troops in Iraq. Among the crowd were veterans from just about every war since World War II. Korean War veterans intermingled with their counterparts from Vietnam, and the new crop of veterans from Iraq, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan stood at attention as the colors were raised and the and the 21-gun salute was executed by their fellow vets. The family of Menchaca occupied a prominent place in fvront of the parade that started on the at the HEB parking lot on Cnetral Boulevard and ended at Veterans Park where the Brownsville Fire Dept. had raised a alrge American flag on a ladder truck.