Posted on 10/17/2003 7:46:52 PM PDT by Hyacinth Bucket
OCEANSIDE - Get out the red-white-and-blue bunting. This city is planning its biggest homecoming parade ever for U.S. troops next month.
City Councilman Jack Feller expects 15,000 to 20,000 troops to march along Coast Highway for the event, which he said will be much larger than the Proud To Be An American Parade in 1991 when troops returned from the Gulf War. About 1,000 troops marched while 100,000 people watched that Saturday, April 27, according to crowd estimates.
From 80,000 to 100,000 spectators are expected at this year's Defenders of Freedom Parade on Saturday, Oct. 25. It will welcome home Camp Pendleton's First Marine Expeditionary Force from fighting in Iraq.
Cannon-like machines will shoot foam that looks like ticker tape along the parade route, between Wisconsin Avenue and Surfrider Way, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Plans call for flyovers by jets and helicopters, an amphibious troop ship landing on the beach near the pier, and displays of tanks and other military equipment in the downtown area.
Five bands - two high school and three military - are expected to march with the troops. But otherwise, Feller said, it will be strictly a military parade led by the expeditionary force's commander, Lt. Gen. James Conway - no politicians and no scantily dressed young women on floats.
All the thousands of troops will be fed before they return to base, Feller said.
Not all the marchers will be Camp Pendleton Marines, however. There will also be sailors from Camp Pendleton and San Diego and Seabees from as far as Port Hueneme and Point Mugu.
"This will be a one-time event that we may never see the likes of again in the city of Oceanside," Mayor Terry Johnson said in a news release. "This will be a wonderful community event."
In order to provide a secure place for official visitors, the Civic Center - including all City Hall buildings, the parking garage, the library and Community Computer Center - will close at 2:30 p.m. the previous day.
Police forces from neighboring cities have promised help with crowd and traffic control.
Feller said President Bush or Secretary of State Colin Powell probably won't come to the parade, despite rumors, because of security concerns. He is hoping to entice the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Michael Hagee, former commanding general at Camp Pendleton, to come.
Getting so many troops to the parade from Camp Pendleton could clog public roads, so they are scheduled to take the train, said Feller, who also serves on the board of North County Transit District.
Although public trains also will still run that day, the transit district will reroute buses and move operations of the Oceanside Transit Center to another location downtown.
"It's been done once before," Tom Lichterman, NCTD's director of transportation services, said, citing the 1991 parade.
Volunteers are needed for tasks ranging from greeting special guests to directing visitors and distributing programs. Interested people may contact the city's volunteer coordinator, Jean Tobin, at (760) 435-3514.
A parade hotline has been set up at (760) 435-5228, and additional information is available on the Internet at www.ci.oceanside.ca.us.
The parade is a joint venture of the city, the Chamber of Commerce and the Marine Corps.
Lola Sherman: (760) 476-8241; lola.sherman@uniontrib.com
"The City of Oceanside is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a Defenders of Freedom Tickertape Parade to welcome home the nation's Marines and Sailors from the First Expeditionary Marine Force. The Defenders of Freedom Parade will begin at 10:00 a.m. on October 25, 2003, on Coast Hwy. at Wisconsin Avenue and will terminate on Coast Hwy. and Surfrider Way. There will also be a static display of military equipment located on The Strand between Civic Center and Seagaze Drives."
When: Saturday, October 25, 2003, starts at 10:00am (NEXT WEEKEND!!)
Where: Oceanside, CA
The article was published last month, for the latest info,
please visit the city's website: http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/
Hi! I just thought I should ping you all, in case some of you have not heard about this. Please tell all your friends and ping everybody. It should be an awesome family event that you won't want to miss. (I missed the big Pro-troops rally held in front of the Miramar Base last March and I only live about 10 minutes away. I don't know how I missed hearing about it. Could you tell that I'm still a little upset?) :) Well, I don't want that to happen to you.
Best Regards,
HB
Also, you might want to call the parade hotline at (760) 435-5228 and ask for suggestions.
Sorry I can't be of any more help than this but if I think or come across something that might help you and your family to get from Newport Beach to Oceanside, I'll send you freepmail. And check back to this thread again to see if others have any ideas for you.
Best Regards,
HB
Hi Cousin Eddie. Kahuna has a really good suggestion here. You might want to look into taking the Amtrak train. Wow, that might be really fun for the kids.
Got the following info from the Parade website not from the Coaster website:
"Coaster Train Schedule:
The Coaster will expand its northbound and southbound train schedule into Oceanside. The Coaster will leave San Diego at 8:20 a.m. and arrive in Oceanside at 9:20 a.m. in ample time for visitors to view the parade. The Coaster will head southbound leaving Oceanside at 11:42 a.m. 12:45 p.m. and at 3:10 p.m."
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