07-24-2003, 08:49 AM
Many very odd things crop up in these veterans' parades. One of the main reasns for this is that the parade organizers - party or city officials or sometimes part-time members of the local voenkom (military committee) - could order the participants to change or upgrade things.
You might think that this would mean a bunch of officials carefully checking uniforms to make sure that everything matched regulations. But you would be wrong. That sort of thing did happen in proper military parades but what they really were concerned with in veterans parades was that everyone looked "nice". They would order the replacement of tattered ribbons or even shoulder boards. Replace an old hat with a new one, etc.
Shawn
You might think that this would mean a bunch of officials carefully checking uniforms to make sure that everything matched regulations. But you would be wrong. That sort of thing did happen in proper military parades but what they really were concerned with in veterans parades was that everyone looked "nice". They would order the replacement of tattered ribbons or even shoulder boards. Replace an old hat with a new one, etc.
Shawn
