Gulf War Emotions Add Extra Element to July 4 Celebration

Floridians celebrated the Fourth of July by lighting a “freedom flame,” and Americans everywhere got out the charcoal briquettes and hot dogs to mark Independence Day.

Emotions stirred by the Persian Gulf War added an extra dimension to the nation’s 215th birthday, which included tributes to the troops and memorials to those who had died.

“I just feel like patriotism is a lot stronger now. I know it is with me,” said Susan Wilkins of Midwest City, Okla., who wore an American flag in her hat as she watched the Oklahoma City parade. “I just wanted to support the troops as they go by.”

The number of parade entries in Oklahoma City was nearly triple the usual, organizers said. Bristol, R.I., which has been holding Independence Day parades for 206 years, included representatives of all military branches, dressed in everything from Colonial militia garb to Gulf War desert fatigues.

Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, was able to plan a parade thanks in part to the government of Kuwait, which chipped in $10,000. The finale of the evening parade was to be an exchange of flags between Vietnam veterans and their Desert Storm comrades.

Tallahassee, Fla., parade watchers clapped and hooted as a pock-marked Iraqi tank was hauled by on a flatbed truck. Families of state residents killed or wounded in the Gulf watched the lighting of a “freedom flame” and the laying of a memorial wreath.

Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles opened the governor’s mansion for a free lunch for 5,000 veterans and relatives, who downed beef, fish, baked beans, corn on the cob and chocolate chip cookies.