Free Republic

 Thousands in Oceanside line street, cheer on OIF fightersSubmitted by: MCB Camp PendletonStory Identification Number: 20031031175220Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards OCEANSIDE, Calif.(Oct. 25, 2003) -- Thundering cannons blasted confetti into the air as thousands cheered I Marine Expeditionary Force Marines marching through Oceanside Saturday in the Defenders of Freedom Parade. The parade featured 10,000 Marines, sailors, veterans and two high-school bands. In an outpouring of support, onlookers held "welcome home" and "thank you" signs. "I think it's really cool to have Marines out here in their uniforms strutting their stuff," said Stacey MacBeth, of Oceanside, a Vista High...

Focused and disciplined, Marines still heard the cheers. Staff Sgt. Thomas Powell knew what he was in for as he arrived in Oceanside at 8 a.m. "I was in the Boy Scouts in Fresno and we did a parade," he said. "It's not really something I had planned on again." Powell would still be in a uniform, but this parade would be decidedly different for the 37-year-old Marine, who on May 30 returned to his home in Vista after spending seven months in Kuwait and Iraq. It would leave him ---- after the mile-long march through tens of thousands of...

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.