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
I hadn't heard about this, either!
NordP
DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM PARADE:
FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE
On Saturday, October 25, 2003, the City of Oceanside and the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce will host the Defenders of Freedom Parade at 10:00 a.m. on Coast Highway beginning at Wisconsin Avenue and terminating at Surfrider Way.
Public Parking and Shuttle Service
Free public parking for the parade will be available east of Interstate 5 at Mission Avenue and Brooks Street at the Brooks Street Swim Club, the Oceanside Senior Center and at the adjacent ballfield. A free shuttle service will begin on October 25 at 8:00 a.m. and will run at ten-minute intervals until 2:00 p.m. The shuttle will pick up parade-goers along the following route: Division Street to Country Club Lane to Maxson Street to Mission Avenue to Ditmar Street to Seagaze Drive.
Street Closures
The following roads will be CLOSED on October 25 from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and posted for NO PARKING on October 25 from 2:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Coast Highway from Oceanside Blvd. To Windward Way
Fremont Street from Oceanside Blvd. To Washington Street
Surfrider Way from Coast Highway to The Strand
Mission Avenue from Horne Street to Coast Highway
Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Leonard, East, Stanley and Eucalyptus between Coast Highway & Tremont Mission Avenue from Coast Highway to Pacific Street CLOSED from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Road closures on October 25 from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m./
NO PARKING on Friday, October 24 from 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 25
Pier View Way from Ditmar to Coast Highway
Pacific Street from Surfrider Way to Seagaze Drive
Meyers Street from Seagaze to Civic Center Drive
Pier View Way from Meyers Street to Pacific Street
Mission Avenue from Meyers Street to Pacific Street
Civic Center Drive from Meyers Street to Pacific Street
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.
For additional information about the parade, contact the Parade Hotline at 435-5228 or visit the web at City of Oceanside.
Hi. I got the following info from the Coaster website. http://www.gonctd.com/coaster/coaster.html
" Brief stops are made at seven stations heading south from Oceanside. Parking is free at each station the Coaster services (except Santa Fe Depot).The address and city for each Coaster station include:
195 S. Tremont Street, Oceanside, 92054
2775 State Street , Carlsbad (Village), 92008
6511 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad (Poinsettia), 92009
25 East "D" Street, Encinitas, 92024
105 N. Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, 92075
11170 Sorrento Valley Road, (Sorrento Valley) San Diego, 92121
4005 Taylor Street, (Old Town Transit Center) San Diego, 92110
1050 Kettner Boulevard, (Sante Fe Depot in downtown) San Diego, 920101.The COASTER operates Monday-Saturday (no Sunday service). For information on connecting transit, personalized travel planning and disabled services, call 1-800-COASTER (1-800-262-7837)."
I hope the station at Kettner Blvd will work for you. It seems that the Oceanside Station at Tremont Street is only at most about a 1/4 of a mile walk to the main parade area near the Civic Center. This estimate is from looking up street names on Mapquest. If I am mistaken, could someone please correct me?
LOL. We'll be seeing you then!
Oh and my boyfriend and I will be wearing something red, white, and blue ;)
For others coming south consider the Metrolink commuter train(I think they run on Saturdays...More frequently), Amtrak is more expensive(and less frequent).
Regards
Excellent suggestion.
Thanks and my very best regards to you too, BoneHead!
(That just doesn't sound right ;) )
Actor, veteran maintains strong ties to Marine Corps
By Michael Burge
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2003
OCEANSIDE - R. Lee Ermey hasn't been in the Marines since 1972, when he was forced to retire after being wounded in Vietnam. But he is the living embodiment of the saying "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
When Ermey took the stage of the Oceanside Amphitheater as master of ceremonies for yesterday afternoon's entertainment portion of the Defenders of Freedom celebration, everyone in uniform cheered.
"I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your senior drill instructor," he shouted. "From now on, you will speak only when spoken to, and the first and last words out of your filthy sewers will be 'Sir.' "
Everyone laughed.
Ermey was reproducing the character he played in the movie "Full Metal Jacket," a performance that earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He currently hosts "Mail Call," a popular program on the History Channel, and has appeared in such movies as "Dead Man Walking," "Saving Silverman" and the recent remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
He considers recent visits with Marines in Iraq as important as the appearances he has made on the silver screen. "I feel as though I'm a spokesman for the Marines in Hollywood," Ermey said before the show. "I feel very responsible for the Marine Corps. I feel very attached."
The "Mail Call" program focuses on the military past, present and future and requires regular visits to Camp Pendleton, Ermey said. He said he has done about 10 shows at the school of infantry on the base. He said he doesn't see much difference between the Marines of his generation and this one.
"They're still ready to eat their guts out as much as the old Corps," Ermey said. On stage yesterday, he didn't hesitate to criticize some of his entertainment colleagues. He unabashedly called Hollywood, "Hollyweird," to the delight of the leathernecks.
But after naming some stars who opposed the war, Ermey said there are thousands of actors, directors and producers who feel otherwise. "All the ones I know support the troops," he said.
After Ermey introduced the musical portion of the show and left the stage, more than half the audience walked out in mute testimony to his popularity. He was swarmed by autograph seekers as he worked his way down The Strand to the Beach Community Center.
Lance Cpl. David Graf said the Marine-turned-movie star exemplifies the dedication a Marine should demonstrate after he leaves the military. "It's an inspiration for everybody," Graf said.
Retired Sgt. Maj. Bill Paxton, a longtime friend who served as a drill instructor in the 1960s with Ermey at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, said: "He hasn't changed. He's still down to earth. He'll always be a Marine."
Michael Burge: (760) 476-8230; michael.burge@uniontrib.com
One movie I really like is the Hiding Place, the story of the Ten Boom Family. While it is not a story about the military and the war, it is a true story of a Christian (Dutch) family who helped many Jews escape from the Nazis by providing a hiding place for them in their home in Holland.
Also, I recently saw Black Hawk Down and liked it very much. I wanted to know what really happened during the Somalia operation and many people said that the movie was pretty accurate in telling the story.
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