Patriotism and pride reigned Saturday in Auburn.

Little matter there was a soak-you-to-your-skin November downpour, too.

This was a hold-your-hand-over-your-heart day to honor America’s heroes.

And if spectators got a little – or even a lot – wet during the city’s 44th annual Veterans Day Parade & Observance, it was a minor sacrifice, many lining Main Street said.

So they stood, waving American flags, huddled under umbrellas, snuggled in weather-resistant jackets, holding a latte, hot chocolate or hot dog in one hand, saluting with the other.

And they enjoyed the spectacle, some 200 units, including more than two-dozen marching bands and representatives of every armed service and many wars. It’s the largest Veterans Day parade of its kind west of the Mississippi, organizers say.

Hundreds of people stretched along the downtown Auburn route, though there was no official crowd estimate.

It was cold: 45 degrees. Wet: rain, rain and more rain. Gray: a nasty November day.

But none of that mattered to the spectators along the route. Here are some of their stories.

THE MIA BRACELET

Linda Strong never knew U.S. Army Spec. 5 James L. Moreland. She was around 8 when he went missing at Lang Vei, South Vietnam, on Feb. 7, 1968. Four years later, as a seventh-grader, she asked Santa for a POW/MIA bracelet. A stainless steel band bearing Moreland’s name and the date of his disappearance showed up in her Christmas stocking. The 49-year-old Walnut Creek, Calif., woman hasn’t taken it off since.

Saturday, she stood in solidarity with Moreland’s sister, Linda Brown of Aberdeen, having met Moreland’s family through happenstance last year. Strong, Brown and Brown’s family watched solemnly as JROTC cadets from Puyallup’s Rogers High School passed by, carrying POW/MIA flags honoring prisoners of war and Americans missing in action.

Brown’s grandson, Clinton Casity, 17, wasn’t marching with his comrades. Instead, the National Guard recruit stood, dressed in Army camouflage fatigues, with his family and shouted “Go Rams!” a nod to the school mascot.

“It’s fantastic that we have people who support our troops,” Linda Brown said, surveying the respect onlookers gave as the black POW/MIA flags whipped in the rain. Strong flew up from the Bay Area for the parade. When she got the bracelet, it was kind of a fad, she recalled. Some of her schoolmates later set them aside.

She did not. “I made a promise and a commitment (to wear the bracelet until Moreland returned), and I intended to keep it,” she said.

THE WORLD WAR II VET

Eighty-one-year-old World War II, Korea and Vietnam veteran Ted Taylor wore a blue steel helmet emblazoned with the number 19 and viewed the parade route through eyes that have seen much sacrifice, much suffering.

The Commander of Fred Hancock Post No. 19 of the American Legion, Renton, said he and his fellow soldiers would march in the parade “as part of our active participation for God and country.”

THE GUNSHIP PILOT

Dennis Linville, code name Red Dog, piloted a Nighthawk gunship in Vietnam, taking off in darkness, flying at 200-300 feet, searching out the enemy with sniper scopes. He crashed three times. Now 66, Linville rides a motorcycle with the Bremerton area Chapter 5 of the Combat Veterans International. They escort the remains of veterans to memorials and provide other services to veterans, he said. Linville, sidelined with an injury, couldn’t ride on Saturday. But his enthusiasm was undaunted. Everyone “is here to pay homage to those who are dead, to those who are forgotten and to those who are still fighting.”

THE FLAG GIVERS

“We support the veterans who serve our country,” 10-year-old Girl Scout Grace Dorn said, as she passed out small plastic American flags to all would take them.

“And support the people who’ve died to preserve our freedom,” added 10-year-old Holly Hytrek.

They were among 11 Scouts from Auburn’s Troop 50662 handing out 51/2-inch wide Old Glories as they made their way toward the beginning of the route, where they would join the marchers.

They wore painted red, white and blue stars on their cheeks, smiles on their faces and clear plastic rain ponchos covering their own uniforms and badges of service.

THE FLAG WAVERS

Robbie Goodrich, 55, and her family bought four $3 flags from a vendor and waved them in time to marching band music and drums. Husband, Hal, a Purple Heart Vietnam vet, couldn’t come. But daughter Angela Leffingwell and grandsons, James, 10, and Derek, 7, made the patriotic trek from Seattle.

“We thought it was important for the grandchildren to see how to respect and honor our veterans,” Goodrich said.

“I love ’em all. I love ’em all,” she added of the men and women who wear – and have worn – the nation’s uniforms. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.”

Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659 kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com