Oceanside 'Defenders of Freedom' parade for 1MEF.

[Cousin Eddie]

The city of Oceanside held a welcome home parade today for the Marines' 1MEF from Camp Pendelton...the 'Defenders of Freedom' Parade. An awesome day for thousands of us along the route.

[Cousin Eddie]

11,000 of America's best along with drivebys of their equipment including tanks, artillery, APCs, and flyovers of various helicopters.

My 4 kids had an absolutely great time and my 9 and 11 year olds were especially happy to be around a crowd that unanimously supports the troops. (We live in L.A. -- enough said.) Got to talk to some of the Marines and Navy personnel -- obviously happy to be home...arrived over the last month or so...appreciated the turnout.

I'm assuming other Freepers were there since I heard about this on FR...any comments/pictures?

(I'm entering this on my phone and tried to search for another thread...kind of difficult...sorry if I missed one.)

[SandRat]

Pictures????

Too bad the 1MEF couldn't go to SF and finish the job at home. The 1MEF may have enjoyed a little extra Hand-to-Hand sand pit and Pugel Stick practice.

[mo4bush]

Cousin Eddie,
Thank you for the report. I wish I could have been there but I was stuck in a class all day long. I hope there was a big crowd and that your little freepers had a great time!
Mo4Bush

[DoctorZIn]

I was there with my wife and kids.

It was great seeing these brave young people marching through town to cheering crowds.
The Marines I spoke to said this made all their work worthwhile.

On a somewhat humorous note, at the end of the parade a rag tag group of antiwar/anti Bush protesters marched behind the Marines. They were protected by the police but greeted with boos.

[DoctorZIn]

I was there with my wife and kids.

It was great seeing these brave young people marching through town to cheering crowds.
The Marines I spoke to said this made all their work worthwhile.

On a somewhat humorous note, at the end of the parade a rag tag group of antiwar/anti Bush protesters marched behind the Marines. They were protected by the police but greeted with boos.

[DoctorZIn]

Announcing the Nov. 2nd Meeting of the OC Chapter.

[Jen]

From sfgate.com via google news

Thousands cheer Marines returning from Iraq

Saturday, October 25, 2003
(10-25) 21:25 PDT OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) --

More than 11,000 Marines and sailors marched through downtown Saturday as thousands of people welcomed home the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.

Cheering parade watchers were stacked 12 deep in places for a mile along Coast Highway, many of them holding flags or signs that said "Thank You." Red, white and blue confetti filled the air.

The Defenders of Freedom Parade was originally to include only active-duty personnel and the Oceanside and El Camino high school bands. But 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.

Besides the troops and bands, the parade included military vehicles such as tanks and landing craft. In one of the most dramatic moments in the event, eight Marine helicopters flew low over Coast Highway, once in each direction.

About 30 war protesters brought up the rear of the parade, and drew jeers and howls from some onlookers. They were escorted by police officers on motorcycles.

"Go home!" Oreta Rhodes of Oceanside screamed. "This is a Marine Corps town. Go to Iraq. Go take a bullet in Iraq."

Leonie Tremaine, a member of the North County Coalition for Peace and Justice, which helped organize the rally, said demonstrators wanted to bring the troops home.

"This is an illegal war," Tremaine said.

There were no arrests, police Capt. Manny Castillo said.

[starsandstrips]

Mike Byron, democrap candidate for Congress, was at the press conference announcing there would be an anti-war rally at the parade! He was estimating a couple hundred people to attend for the anti-war protest.

There were less than thirty protesters and the local media never showed any of the parade only the less then very small "Protesters"

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi Cousin Eddie,

I was there, too. I had a great time! As you said, there were about 11,000 troops in the parade and the local news said that around 80,000 people turned up to cheer and thank them.

I also enjoyed seeing up-close the different military equipment and vehicles (tanks, trucks, humvees) they had on display. I took pictures but haven't had them developed yet (I really gotta join the 2000's and finally get a digital camera!).

HB :)

[SandRat]

A 12 mile route fully covered that was great! That means that there were 2640 people lining the route, not counting the areas wehere the crowd was 12 deep. Sounds like you 1MEF Honor Parade drew mmore folks than the DC Commies protest (15,000 Agence France-Presse)

About 30 war protesters brought up the rear of the parade, and drew jeers and howls from some onlookers. They were escorted by police officers on motorcycles.

Too bad the townspeople didn’t know in advance that these scum were going to horn in on the 1MEF's big day.

I'm sure that if they had the good townspeople would have been more than willing donate tomatoes from the sides of the route to the scum.

[VOA]

I'm jealous.
I would have made the trip, but the current MTA strike plus some needed work stopped
me from going.

But I did get to see a bit of evening news coverage (lucky to get Channel 8
via my stone-age TV anntena). I really would have loved to hear R. Lee Ermey ("Sgt. Hartman"
in "Full Metal Jacket") cutting loose with the Mainres and sailors.

[pfflier]

I've got some pictures but don't know how to get them into HTML yet. If you want some I can respond through freeper email.

[tgslTakoma]

FYI!

[maica]

Somehow this event was not visually attractive enough for the hostile media, either! Wouldn't do to let Americans across the country know that heroes are actually ending deployments and returning home, and returning to thankful Americans.

[Stultis]

San Diego Union-Tribune:

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

Staff writers Michael Burge and Angela Lau contributed to this report