Parade salutes World War II veterans

A military town is a good place to watch a Veterans Day parade, and Wednesday’s San Diego celebration delivered on color and spirit.

Nearly a thousand active-duty sailors and Marines marched in the downtown mid-morning parade, which attracted an estimated 60,000 spectators along Harbor Drive.

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San Diego Veterans Day Parade 2015

The spotlight was on veterans of World War II, in commemoration of the 70th anniversary this summer of the war’s end.

An estimated 500 World War II veterans attended the parade.

Jack Harkins, leader of the parade committee, said he received such a large interest in including World War II survivors that it spurred him to change the parade’s format.

Gone were the usual floats, which require space in the parade’s flow.

“I decided we are going to make it about people,” Harkins, a retired Marine officer and Vietnam veteran, said.

American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters were out in force. Many of them included World War II veterans in their displays and vehicles.

The crowd cheered and waved as veterans of past eras paraded by, some still looking crisp in vintage uniforms.

Pearl Harbor survivor Gordon Jones was somewhat overwhelmed by the experience.

“It’s a lot of fun. It’s pretty crowded, a lot of people here,” said Jones, who lives in Chula Vista. “I’m not used that. … But it’s great seeing all these people here.”

The parade’s grand marshal was Mabel Stenstrom, the first woman chosen to kick off the annual San Diego event.

Stenstrom, who now resides in an assisted living facility in East County, joined the Navy in 1944 and served for a year in the United States as a drill platoon leader and lifeguard.

Even veterans of other eras also wanted to shine the spotlight on World War II.

The Navy’s submarine corps made up a good chunk of the active-duty sailors who marched.

The crews of the fast-attack subs Hampton and Pasadena were in attendance in their dark dress uniforms.

Behind them came gray-haired former members of the American submarine force, organized by the United States Submarine Veterans association.

Ed Farley said the group has become the successor organization to U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II, which was forced to disband due to dwindling membership.

Honoring our veterans

Farley said the San Diego chapter of Navy submariners came out in significant numbers Wednesday because it makes the public aware of what’s usually referred to as the “silent” service.

“We do exist,” said Farley, who served in the Navy from 1957 to 1978.

“And we like to think we made a significant contribution to stopping the Japanese empire” in World War II, he said.

Veterans Day was celebrated around the San Diego region, from a parade in Fallbrook to “Take a Veteran to School” day in Coronado.

Younger vets also made an appearance at the downtown San Diego parade.

Student veterans organizations from San Diego State University and Grossmont, Southwestern and Mesa community colleges marched in the throng.

With sturdy, young frames, they shouldered flags from each of the four U.S. military branches plus individual state flags.

Children, including Girl Scouts, carried photos of World War II veterans as part of the Spirit of ’45 entry in the 2015 San Diego Veterans Day parade.

(Jeanette Steele / San Diego Union-Tribune)

In the audience along Harbor Drive, veteran Tom Guerrero said he appreciated the display.

Guerrero served in the Navy from 1973 to 1977 aboard aircraft carriers. His baseball cap was emblazoned with the emblem of the carrier Oriskany, a flattop launched in 1945.

“I thank god for this country,” said Guerrero, who took the trolley by himself from Chula Vista to be among his comrades in the crowd.

“I’ve been to other countries. You’ve got to be someplace else to see how nice it is here.”

A miniature American flag poked out of Guerrero’s shirt pocket. He found it on the street along the parade route.

“I don’t like to see it on the ground,” the Navy veteran said.