DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - The massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, made for heavy hearts, and yet a triumphant spirit, at the Veterans Day parade in downtown St. Louis. People who march in the parade every year say Saturday's event was the best-ever. The weather helped draw in large crowds and so did a local Boy Scout troop. They challenged thousands of scouting families to come, and it worked.

Parade marchers said the parade helped show America's military can withstand any test.