Oklahoma City's St. Patrick's Day Parade embraces military veterans

Two-time Iraq War veteran Cachet Hampton lives on Tinker Air Force Base with her family: husband Jamarl Hampton, a military training leader at Tinker, and daughters Janyah, 4, and Jaydah, 8 months.

Cachet Hampton said she noticed the signs of gratitude peppered throughout the parade, a new addition to the beauty queens, bagpipe players, Shriners and sheriff's deputies on motorcycles who passed by the crowd.

Janyah's favorites were the Disney heroines, such as Jasmin, Snow White and Cinderella.

It was Cachet Hampton's first St. Patrick's Day parade in Oklahoma City, she said. For the event, she donned a green wrap dress, green lipstick and green and gold eye shadow — Janyah got to wear the lipstick, too.

The parade began at 1 p.m. at NW 5 and Broadway before heading onto E.K. Gaylord Avenue and east on Sheridan Avenue in Bricktown. Parade organizer Fran Kozakowski called the turnout “absolutely the best” she'd ever seen.

About 10 a.m. Saturday, a special ceremony was held on the steps of the state Capitol, part of “Welcome Home the Heroes” events organized by a nonprofit group called the Welcome Home Foundation in conjunction with the parade.

State Sen. Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, were among the volunteers who read the names of all Oklahoma soldiers killed since Sept. 11, 2001, to a crowd of about 40 gathered at the south steps.

Vietnam War veteran Charles Murphy, of Oklahoma City, was there to pay tribute to Oklahoma soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.