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Baldwin Students Celebrate Veterans Day By Hearing Vets' Stories

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Generations of veterans passed through the heart of Pittsburgh, in the annual Veterans Day Parade.

Young and old lined the parade route, as veterans, young and old, marched past.

But in Baldwin, veterans brought their stories to the students, at the Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School. From World War II to Vietnam, veterans volunteered to bring it all back home.

School security guard Brian Neff lost a friend and fellow Marine in Iraq.

"Some stuff you don't want to talk about, some stuff you're fine with talking about," he says. "Good stories. Bad stories. But that's life."

Afghanistan and Iraq veteran Mike Gardner comes from a long line of soldiers.

"It's for my grandson who is here at the school," he says. "It's for my wife, who had to put up with me being away. "It's for us to keep the country free. I've got it deep inside here, and always will."

Bob Oehling was 17 years old when he joined the Army in World War II. Speaking to the kids, he continues to serve.

"They should know," he says. "It's history, and I helped make it."

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