With Daylight Savings Time coming earlier than ever nowdays, the afternoon shadows ran long Sunday afternoon for the annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Floyd and the crowd was a far cry from what it once was in a county where service to country was once considered important and worthy of more respect and attention.

Even with Spring-like weather on a November afternoon, the turnout was not large. Perhaps the economy has something to do with the lack of interest. Perhaps the controversies surrounding the unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan kept people away. Perhaps people couldn’t tear themselves away from the football game or NASCAR race on TV. Whatever the excuse, that dog won’t hunt. Those who put on the uniform and stand post to serve our country deserve better,

The poor turnout at last year’s Veterans Day Parade prompted Greg Locke (riding in sidecar below) to write a letter to the Floyd Press asking why people didn’t come out and support those who served their country.

Locke hoped the letter would spur a greater turnout this year.

It didn’t.

The problem isn’t limited to Floyd. In Bedford, the National D-Day Memorial is broke and might close unless the National Park Service decides to take over ownership and management of the monument to those who died in the bloodiest day of World War II. Yet a museum on D-Day in New Orleans is flooded with donations.

Being a vet once counted for something in Virginia. What happened?