KINGSTON, Pa. -- Flags waved in the wind at the Kingston Forty Fort Memorial Day parade.
Some are held with extra meaning, like Margie Gelgot's.
"To show our support, that we honor our country, our veterans. It's just the thing to do," said Gelgot.
Margie and her husband James have good friends from the Wyoming Valley who never made it home after the Vietnam War, which is why it means so much for them to be at the parade honoring their memory.
"They need to know that what they're doing is appreciated. It's very important that they have our support. A lot of times they don't want to be there either," said Gelgot.
James Gelgot was actually drafted in Vietnam but never served because of a leg problem.
"They sent me home, they said 'Son, you wouldn't last one minute in boot camp.' Boy, I was the happiest man in the world coming home because a lot of my friends didn't make it," said James Gelgot.
The parade means so much to some people that they mark it on their calendars every year and make it a point to be here.
"I actually come back for this parade every single year because it's lovely to be here for it and to see my mother who loves the parade," said Robert Fireman of Nyack, New York.
A Kingston native, Fireman says this show of patriotism always reminds him of his father who was a veteran.
"He fought in World War II. He was only 18 years old when he joined the army and he risked his life for this country," said Fireman.
More than anything, people say the parade reminds them even though their friends and family who were veterans may be gone, they are definitely not forgotten.