In Branson, Missouri, veterans are remembered year-round

BRANSON, Mo (Reuters) - Robert Blackwell can't remember how many years he has been visiting Branson during Veterans Homecoming Week.

"Maybe 15," said Blackwell, a Vietnam veteran from Ottumwa, Iowa. "It's a nice place to come. Branson honors and welcomes veterans like no other place in America."

Indeed, Branson, a tourist town nestled in the Ozark Mountains and known for live music, rolls out the red, white and blue for Veterans Homecoming Week, going on now and among the largest veteran's celebration in the country.

More than 40,000 people attend the numerous patriotic events, which began about 20 years ago.

Hotels post welcome messages. Restaurants, stores and most of the town's 50 theaters offer discounts to veterans. Schoolchildren make postcards and posters for veterans. A local outlet mall offers space for the Branson Veterans Task Force to host meals, a day room and an outdoor tribute to the late Bob Hope and the USO.

The week culminates in a massive Veterans Day parade, now in its 78th year. Following the parade, singer Tony Orlando performs a free show to veterans, a tradition he began in 1993. That year, 603 veterans attended, he said. This year, he expects more than 2,000.

"Branson has become a beacon of patriotism for men and women who have put their lives on the line for America," Orlando told Reuters. "We knew that Branson was the perfect place for veterans to come together and also meet former POWs. It is a life-changer."

FREE LUNCH

On a cold, rainy afternoon this week, more than 1,000 veterans -- from every service branch and every war since World War Two -- and their spouses lined up at the outlet mall to receive a free lunch.

The Charming Echoes duo sang Big Band tunes and the songs of the five military branches while veterans hugged, laughed and ate hot dogs.

"These guys come back year after year," said Steve Weyeher, the lunch's organizer, who donates food from his restaurant. "We do this because we care and because veterans are often forgotten in other parts of the country, but not in this town."

After lunch, veterans gather in the day room to swap stories while listening to music from local performers and drinking coffee.

"Year after year, the same guys come back and we know when one of them doesn't," said Sandy Milner, who organizes and runs the day room. "We keep in touch year around with them. It's not a veterans' reunion. It's a family reunion."

But the week isn't just about laughs and entertainment.

Don Goldsworthy, a Vietnam veteran, is serious when he talks about his Veterans Wall of Heroes, temporarily displayed at the outlet mall this week.

"This is not a museum," he said, looking around the room at his military collection. "It's a tribute by vets for vets and their families. People send me stuff all the time."

Hundreds of veterans' pictures from World War One to the present lined the room. Various uniforms hung, freshly-pressed, on mannequins. A collection of battlefield radios sat on a counter. A Fort Campbell, Kentucky, communications team mingled with visitors to talk about today's technology used in battle.

"I look at myself as a keeper of the key for all of this history," Goldsworthy said.

TRIBUTES DON'T STOP

The Branson tributes to veterans don't stop after Friday's parade.

Veterans Memorial Museum of Branson is open year-round with exhibits, artifacts and what officials say is the world's largest war memorial bronze sculpture. It features 50 life-size figures storming a beach.

Performers routinely recognize veterans at shows, asking them to stand and saluting them.

Major military dates are also celebrated. In January, the town lights candles for the Vietnam Peace Accord. In June, Korean War Armistice Day is remembered. In September, the end of World War Two is marked.

Nearly four years ago, Marlyce Stockinger, who helped to start Veterans Homecoming Week, founded Hand in Hand, a three-day event in the spring that honors Purple Heart recipients. The event draws thousands of people from around the world.

"Veterans shouldn't just be remembered one day a year," Stockinger said.

Blackwell agrees. He was drafted into the Army in 1967 at age 19. He served one year with the "Black Horse" 11th Armored Cavalry. War changed his life.

"I lost some buddies over there," Blackwell said as a man interrupted him to thank him for his service. "But I've made new friends here every year."

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Jerry Norton)