As a part of the July 4 festivities, the Cardinals honored several veterans prior to the start of the opener of the Cubs-Cardinals series. While each veteran was introduced to the crowd, a packed Busch Stadium gave a spectacular applause.

"It's a nice thing for baseball to be doing," said John Abbamondi, Cardinals assistant general manager and a former veteran. "It just really fits in with what baseball is really about in our society. Like the Commissioner says, it's a social institution. I just think having this sort of tie-in is what Independence Day is about."

One of the four veterans honored before the game, Abbamondi served in the Navy as a flight officer. Abbamondi flew over 40 missions between 1993-2002, serving mostly in the Persian Gulf and Japan.

"Hopefully, this will be our gesture to our veterans," Abbamondi said. "If I can represent the Cardinals in that sense, I'm happy to do that."

The Cardinals also honored three others prior to the game. Former Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox accompanied his father, Vern Cox, who served in the U.S. Air Force. Rocky Sickmann, a retired marine and Kakow, Mo., native, was one of the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days. Leo Tevlin, a retired naval aviator, served in both World War II and Korea.

Honoring the veterans is a part of Major League Baseball's "Welcome Back Veterans" campaign. The charity's purpose is to help veterans make a transition back into a post-service life.

Part of what the organization is trying to do is establish 100,000 jobs for veterans when they come back to the United States.

"I think that the fact that [MLB President and COO] Bob DuPuy is a veteran, I'm a veteran -- baseball as an institution has historically viewed veterans positively," Abbamondi said. "I'm grateful for that, and we hope other employers see what veterans have to offer and will hire them."