thedrifter
10-27-2003, 07:03 AM
Thousands flock to coast parade to thank military
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2003
OCEANSIDE ? "Awesome" was the most-repeated word by spectators and troops alike yesterday morning as more than 11,000 Marines and sailors marched through downtown to the applause of tens of thousands of people.
It was a welcome-home from the war in Iraq for the men and women of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.
Parade watchers were stacked 12 deep in some places for a mile on both sides of Coast Highway, and there wasn't a bare spot anywhere on the sidewalk.
Spectators applauded and cheered as each unit marched by. They waved small American flags and hoisted placards that said "Thank You" or "Welcome Home, Dad."
Two young men stood inside the bed of a pickup in a used-car lot and shouted: "We Love You Guys."
Cannon-like devices shot red, white and blue confetti ? the closest Oceanside could come to traditional ticker tape.
The Defenders of Freedom Parade was to consist only of active-duty personnel and the Oceanside and El Camino high school bands. At the last minute, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general of the expeditionary force, asked city officials if Vietnam War veterans could march behind his command staff.
"I finally got my parade," Vietnam veteran C.C. Sanders said afterward.
Rear Adm. Chuck Kubic said he, too, had served in Vietnam, and there were no parades for returning troops then. Kubic said he told officials in the nation's capital that little Oceanside was going all out to celebrate the homecoming while big cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., did nothing.
Some of the biggest oohs and aahs from the crowd yesterday came when eight Marine helicopters flew low over Coast Highway ? once in each direction.
Besides the marching troops and bands, the event featured a parade of military vehicles such as tanks, landing craft and the workhorse of the Navy's Seabees, a huge backhoe pulled on a trailer. The vehicles were also on display near the beach throughout the afternoon.
"It was awesome, an awesome show of patriotism," said Rep. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel.
Councilman Jack Feller, who first suggested the parade, said the parade was everything that I wanted it to be."
"It was unbelievable," Feller said. "I've hardly been able to speak since the first (troops) went by ? just to think of what these guys and girls do in the name of freedom."
Said Mayor Terry Johnson: "It was one of the best things that ever happened in Oceanside."
Marine Jason Wittling, 29, who was disabled fighting in Iraq, watched the parade from his wheelchair.
"I wish I could have been out there with my unit as it walked by," Wittling said.
About 30 war protesters who brought up the rear of the parade, carrying signs and banners opposing the war, drew jeers and howls from many of the onlookers, and some people came from the sidewalk to yell at them.
"Go home!" Oreta Rhodes of Oceanside screamed. "This is a Marine Corps town. Go to Iraq. Go take a bullet in Iraq."
Retired Marine Cpl. Bob Warren, who served in Vietnam, snatched a protester's placard but was stopped by police.
"It reminds of Vietnam," Warren said.
"We just want the troops to come home," said Leonie Tremaine, a member of the North County Coalition for Peace and Justice, which helped organize the rally. "This is an illegal war."
Oceanside police officers on motorcycles escorted the protesters to ensure their safety.
"We would have kept the crowd separate if there had been a problem," said police Capt. Manny Castillo.
There were no parade-related arrests, Castillo said.
After the parade, the city hosted a program at the municipal amphitheater and provided free hot dogs and hamburgers to the Marines.
Conway said it had been quite a logistical exercise ? one that started at 3 a.m. ? to get more than 11,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton to downtown Oceanside.
A peace rally and march yesterday in downtown San Diego attracted about 600 people, with no incidents reported. Some motorists honked at participants in a show of support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lola Sherman: (760) 476-8241; lola.sherman@uniontrib.com
Staff writers Michael Burge and Angela Lau contributed to this report.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20031026-9999_2m26parade.html
Sempers,
Roger
By Lola Sherman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2003
OCEANSIDE ? "Awesome" was the most-repeated word by spectators and troops alike yesterday morning as more than 11,000 Marines and sailors marched through downtown to the applause of tens of thousands of people.
It was a welcome-home from the war in Iraq for the men and women of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.
Parade watchers were stacked 12 deep in some places for a mile on both sides of Coast Highway, and there wasn't a bare spot anywhere on the sidewalk.
Spectators applauded and cheered as each unit marched by. They waved small American flags and hoisted placards that said "Thank You" or "Welcome Home, Dad."
Two young men stood inside the bed of a pickup in a used-car lot and shouted: "We Love You Guys."
Cannon-like devices shot red, white and blue confetti ? the closest Oceanside could come to traditional ticker tape.
The Defenders of Freedom Parade was to consist only of active-duty personnel and the Oceanside and El Camino high school bands. At the last minute, Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general of the expeditionary force, asked city officials if Vietnam War veterans could march behind his command staff.
"I finally got my parade," Vietnam veteran C.C. Sanders said afterward.
Rear Adm. Chuck Kubic said he, too, had served in Vietnam, and there were no parades for returning troops then. Kubic said he told officials in the nation's capital that little Oceanside was going all out to celebrate the homecoming while big cities such as New York and Washington, D.C., did nothing.
Some of the biggest oohs and aahs from the crowd yesterday came when eight Marine helicopters flew low over Coast Highway ? once in each direction.
Besides the marching troops and bands, the event featured a parade of military vehicles such as tanks, landing craft and the workhorse of the Navy's Seabees, a huge backhoe pulled on a trailer. The vehicles were also on display near the beach throughout the afternoon.
"It was awesome, an awesome show of patriotism," said Rep. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel.
Councilman Jack Feller, who first suggested the parade, said the parade was everything that I wanted it to be."
"It was unbelievable," Feller said. "I've hardly been able to speak since the first (troops) went by ? just to think of what these guys and girls do in the name of freedom."
Said Mayor Terry Johnson: "It was one of the best things that ever happened in Oceanside."
Marine Jason Wittling, 29, who was disabled fighting in Iraq, watched the parade from his wheelchair.
"I wish I could have been out there with my unit as it walked by," Wittling said.
About 30 war protesters who brought up the rear of the parade, carrying signs and banners opposing the war, drew jeers and howls from many of the onlookers, and some people came from the sidewalk to yell at them.
"Go home!" Oreta Rhodes of Oceanside screamed. "This is a Marine Corps town. Go to Iraq. Go take a bullet in Iraq."
Retired Marine Cpl. Bob Warren, who served in Vietnam, snatched a protester's placard but was stopped by police.
"It reminds of Vietnam," Warren said.
"We just want the troops to come home," said Leonie Tremaine, a member of the North County Coalition for Peace and Justice, which helped organize the rally. "This is an illegal war."
Oceanside police officers on motorcycles escorted the protesters to ensure their safety.
"We would have kept the crowd separate if there had been a problem," said police Capt. Manny Castillo.
There were no parade-related arrests, Castillo said.
After the parade, the city hosted a program at the municipal amphitheater and provided free hot dogs and hamburgers to the Marines.
Conway said it had been quite a logistical exercise ? one that started at 3 a.m. ? to get more than 11,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton to downtown Oceanside.
A peace rally and march yesterday in downtown San Diego attracted about 600 people, with no incidents reported. Some motorists honked at participants in a show of support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lola Sherman: (760) 476-8241; lola.sherman@uniontrib.com
Staff writers Michael Burge and Angela Lau contributed to this report.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20031026-9999_2m26parade.html
Sempers,
Roger