Yahoo! News - WWII Vets Gather for Memorial Dedication
WASHINGTON - America dedicated a memorial to the fast-thinning ranks of World War II veterans, a poignant last hurrah drawing together tens of thousands of old soldiers, sailors and heroes of the home front.

Frail now, full of spunk then, they were thanked Saturday for service that "helped save the world."

The National Mall, where huge numbers usually gather in protest, instead offered a last-of-a-lifetime scene of commemoration as veterans assembled by the sweeping monument of granite and bronze that was more than a decade in the planning.

Many veterans gripped canes. Others sat in wheelchairs. The hardiest among them grabbed their wives and danced in the aisles when 1940s swing music wafted over the crowd. Young people came up to old people and said thanks.

The Veterans Affairs Department deployed several dozen counselors to help people deal with the emotions of the day. Counselor Arto Woods talked with a distraught veteran who sat by a tree after telling his war story to others in a tent.

"He just needed someone to talk with," Woods said. "He was thinking, why did he survive compared with others he knew in his unit?"

It's about time we honored "the greatest generation". Thanks go to all the vets on this Memorial Day!