Dallas Veterans Day Parade Canceled Due To Weather Concerns

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A Veterans Day parade in Dallas that was scheduled for Monday has been canceled due to safety concerns related to weather.

Rain is expected in Dallas throughout the morning along with cold temperatures to make for a wintry day in North Texas.

The parade hosted by the Greater Dallas Veterans Foundation was going to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I. Retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier was the grand marshal of the parade.

"We would like to thank all the participants who were scheduled to participate in the parade. We are especially thankful for the volunteers who each year donate their time and money to make the Greater Dallas Veterans Day Parade an event that solemnly honors our nation's veterans and service members," a spokesperson for the Greater Dallas Veterans Foundation said.

An abbreviated ceremony will be held on Monday at Dallas City Hall at 11 a.m. Cordier will still be honored at the smaller event.

Cordier was captured as a prisoner of war on December 2, 1966 during his second combat tour in Vietnam. A missile had hit his jet, and he ejected 24,000 feet in the air as communist forces fired from below him.

"Landed in a very remote area of north Vietnam but was captured right away and taken to Hanoi," he said. "The conditions were terrible. We were locked up 24/7. Forbidden to exercise. If you got caught exercising, they would put you in irons for a week. We were forbidden to speak. If we had a cellmate, you could only whisper. If they heard your voice outside, they'd come in and beat you up or worse."

He was released on March 4, 1973. He is now a published author where he shares more of life in his book.