For 12 years, Jim Rubin was charged with making sure numerous floats, scout troops and bands were lined up in what he said became one of the state’s largest parades of its kind.

Now, the former parade chairman will be the grand marshal of the 2009 Beckley Veterans Day Parade. Rubin, the American Legion Post 32 commander, will lead the Nov. 11 parade the post sponsors.

“It’s an honor for your peers and fellow veterans to think of you like that,” Rubin said. “I was always looking for candidates for grand marshal, and now I am it.”

The Raleigh County native joined the U.S. Air Force in 1952, during the Korean War, but the war ended before he finished training. He was sent to French Indochina (now Vietnam). He said American troops were sent to the region as advisers for the French during the first Indochina War, and he was there for the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. That battle led to Vietnam splitting in two, and that eventually led to the Vietnam War.

He said he did not realize how dangerous the work in French Indochina was until he had moved to his next assignment.

“During the time I was in French Indochina, I didn’t seem to be so concerned about risk,” he said. “But when I looked back, it was a risky situation. We had 200 men there, and (a group later known as the Viet Cong) captured three of our guys and put them in a jungle prison.

“That could have been me. They were only fed rice and water. I went to see them after they were re-patriated (released), and you wouldn’t recognize them. They were skin and bones, and their heads were shaved.”

Rubin said he handled supply work during his time in French Indochina, but his duties were highly varied. One entailed loading wounded soldiers for transportation to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. He was later sent to the Philippines himself during the Formosa crisis. The Philippines was close to Formosa (now Taiwan). American troops were on standby in the Philippines in case Formosa was attacked, he said.

Rubin finished his Air Force duty at Langley Air Force Base, Va. He was discharged in 1956 with a staff sergeant’s rank.

Years later, friends who were in the American Legion convinced Rubin to join the organization. Rubin has been the Beckley Post 32 commander the past six years, and he has been a member for more than 20 years altogether. He praised the organization’s programs and community involvement. Besides the Veterans Day parade, Post 32 sponsors flag programs in schools and a baseball team.

Rubin said he is in “semi-retirement” with the parade, but he considers the work he did worthwhile. He hopes those who watch Wednesday’s parade will gain more respect for people who have served or are still serving in the military.

“I think this does engage the public,” he said. “I believe it enhances, for a brief period, patriotism. You have the flags, the patriotic quotes, the uniforms ... You feel grateful to belong to this great nation of ours.”

The parade’s theme is “Let’s Get Together on Important Issues — United, We Stand; Divided, We Fall.”

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Park Middle School. It will proceed to Neville Street and then turn onto South Heber, Main and South Kanawha streets. It will make a final turn onto Prince Street and end near the city’s nearby parking lot. The best floats will receive prizes.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com