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Schumer: Afghanistan, Iraq War Veterans Deserve NYC Parade

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer is proposing a New York City homecoming parade for troops returning from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Along with veterans' groups, Schumer says it's time to honor "America's post 9/11 troops," continuing the modern tradition of welcome-home parades down Broadway in lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes.

The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan is expected to end this year. The Iraq war officially ended in 2011.

They followed the 9/11 terror attacks.

The New York Democrat has asked the Defense Department to work with city officials to start planning. In 2012, the Pentagon said it was still too early.

Schumer and vets from the United War Veterans Council of New York and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America plan to detail the proposal Sunday.

Parades through the Canyon of Heroes used to be a semi-regular event in New York City from the 1920s until the 1960s, honoring war heroes, heads of state, astronauts and sports stars.

However, since 1999, the tradition has been relegated to local sports championship teams, most recently the Super Bowl-winning Giants in Feburary 2012.

The last nonsports parade was in 1998 for John Glenn and other astronauts of a space shuttle Discovery mission.

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