Thousands march and cheer in Veterans Day Parade

Crowds waving small American flags and holding strings attached to red, white and blue balloons cheered as 86-year-old Paul J. Murphy passed by in a white sport utility vehicle near the front of the Denver Veterans Day parade.

Murphy was one of 1,197 shipmen aboard the USS Indianapolis on July 26, 1945, when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.

Of the 316 men who survived the initial blast and sinking of the ship and five days of shark attacks and dehydration, only 56 members of the crew, including Murphy, remain alive.

“I’m the only one left in Colorado,” Murphy said just before Saturday’s parade got underway. “It’s important that the story be told. This is not in the history books.”

One of dozens of school and scout groups that have heard Murphy’s story include Brownies from Girl Scout Troop 1077, who marched behind Murphy in the parade. The girls, who attend Beach Court Elementary School in north Denver where Murphy’s daughter teaches, were glowing as they smiled and waved at cheering spectators.

Cannon and gun salutes as well as an F-16 flyover signaled the arrival of the front of the parade at the review stand at Civic Center.

Air National Guard Maj. Holger Peters, who marched in the parade, said he helped rebuild a runway in Afghanistan last year. The engineer said it has been his privilege to serve since 1983.

When he returned home from his tour strangers at the airport had tears in their eyes as they watched family reunions. He appreciates such expressions of support.

“It’s truly overwhelming,” Peters said.

The parade included floats sponsored by Disabled American Veterans chapters, American Legion posts, vintage and current military vehicles, marching bands and scout troops.

Parade dignitaries included U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman; Maj. Gen H. Michael Edwards, the adjutant general of Colorado; and Dr. Ljubica Jelusic, minister of Defense for the Republic of Slovenia.

Teresa Richard, 39, of Aurora, who was in the crowd watching the parade, said she came to support a daughter marching with fellow members of a youth ROTC program and to honor the legacies of her father and two uncles who served in the Army.

“It’s important what they do for me and our country,” Richard said.

Leanna Phillips, 57, of Commerce City said she was at the parade with her husband because last year’s parade had more marchers than spectators.

“We’re at war,” Phillips said. “We need to be supporting these people who are giving their lives for us.”

Looking fit and trim in the same uniform he wore as an Army oldier in 1945, 84-year-old Ron Konkel of Denver had dark memories of the gruesome chore he had digging up bodies of U.S. soldiers massacred at a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

“I remember what it was like,” Konkel said. “It’s very important we share what we know.”

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com