Jan. 28 was an amazing day not just for St. Louis but for all 
of America because it showed what we can do, together, when we unite 
around the pillars that hold up this greatest of nations. We used our 
free speech, our freedom of assembly, our collective sense of can-do and
 good-old American ingenuity and capitalism to create one symbolic day 
when we were not falsely divvied up by political preferences but 
genuinely united in our awe of so much American sacrifice and our 
determination to actively participate in this time of mass transition 
from soldier to citizen.
-- Craig Schneider, co-organized the St. Louis welcome home parade for veterans that inspired the other parades taking place across the country,  "People, not politics"  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).