Parade Through City to Honor Troops, All Vets

The men and women of the armed forces will be the uncontested stars of a parade scheduled to wind through downtown San Diego May 18, in the city’s largest military parade since the end of World War II.

Dignitaries and senior military officials will be relegated to the sidelines as active-duty personnel and veterans of past wars march by, along with a showcase of weapons and high school bands playing patriotic music.

“It will be different than your traditional community parade,” said Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s spokesman, Paul Downey. “There won’t be dignitaries riding in cars, there won’t be any clowns. . . . The whole thing, from beginning to finish, will be honoring the troops of Desert Storm and previous conflicts.”

If former President Ronald Reagan decides to attend, however, and expresses an interest in riding in the parade, “we would obviously accommodate his wishes,” Downey added.

Reagan “expressed a great interest” in the parade, but it remains to be seen whether the event will fit into his schedule, Downey said. President Bush has not yet responded to the city’s invitation.

Families of military personnel still stationed in the Persian Gulf will also march in the parade. They will be featured at the end of the procession to represent the “home front.”

People representing the city’s ethnic cultures will follow carrying a large U.S. flag. The public will be encouraged to fall in line, following the parade to its end at Kettner Boulevard and F Street. A USO variety show will follow at Pantoja Park, near Kettner Boulevard and G Street.

Organizers say “San Diego Salutes the Troops,” scheduled for Armed Forces Day, will be the West Coast’s premier welcome-home-the-troops parade.

“It’s going to be massive,” Phillip Battaglia, a volunteer organizer, said. Battaglia has organized many rallies and parades in San Diego, including the annual Columbus Day parade.

The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at 6th Avenue and B Street. The procession will head south on 6th Avenue, turn west on Broadway, and then head south on Kettner Boulevard before ending at F Street.

Early in the parade, major conflicts in U.S. history--from the Revolutionary War through World War I--will be portrayed by historical club members dressed in period costume.

About 520 veterans from past wars will follow. Next will be active-duty personnel, with military floats and a variety of weaponry, much of which was used during Operation Desert Storm.

The show of U.S. technology will include as many as a dozen tanks; special tactics machines, such as the Navy’s land and sea transport vehicle; a Tomahawk missile; long-range artillery and a 75-foot Navy submarine.

Battaglia said he was moved by the appreciation shown to veterans at last weekend’s parade in Oceanside and hopes for the same response at San Diego’s parade.

“I think the community is anxious to say to them they were not forgotten,” he said. “They served when they were called. I saw that response to the Vietnam veterans in Oceanside.”

He said San Diego’s parade should be twice as large as the one in Oceanside and could draw about 200,000 spectators. About 10,000 people are expected in the parade.

The city’s victory parade in 1945 after World War II had 12,000 participants and about 80,000 spectators. San Diego’s last military parade in 1969 had fewer participants than in 1945, but the crowd reached about 100,000.

Parade organizers are searching for corporate sponsors to help pay for everything from bus transportation to portable toilets. Individual donations as small as $5 would help, Downey said, adding that the City Council has passed a special resolution enabling the city to accept parade donations from individuals.

A share of profits from vendors selling T-shirts and food during the parade will pay for most of the city’s costs, covering services such as police overtime and cleanup. The parade committee has raised about half of the $175,000 needed to cover the event, Downey said. A benefit dance for the USO also will be held May 17 at the Convention Center.

Downey said he hopes war protesters will lay down their signs and “join with everyone else in welcoming the troops home.”

“What we hope to achieve from all this is for every man and woman who was in the military to walk away from the parade knowing that the public appreciated the sacrifices they made,” Downey said.

The day after the San Diego parade, another large military parade is scheduled in Hollywood.