St. Patrick’s Day Parade to Salute Troops From Gulf

As Ventura County residents await the return of troops from the Persian Gulf, cities and local organizations are planning celebrations to honor them.

The third annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 16 in Ventura--which will feature 44 floats, Irish dancers, harp and bagpipe players, and four Chinese dragons--will be dedicated to the veterans of the war with Iraq, said Ventura Councilman Jim Monahan, one of the organizers.

“The timing is perfect for us,” Monahan said. “We were in the process of planning a parade anyway. I think it will blend perfectly.”

Organizers only hope that veterans will be home for the event scheduled for the eve of St. Patrick’s Day.

Veterans from four county organizations will be the parade’s grand marshals: the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled Veterans Assn. and Vietnam Veterans Assn. A Navy color guard contingent from the Point Mugu Naval Air Station will lead the parade.

The parade, also featuring marchers with American flags and yellow ribbons, will start on Main Street near the Old Mission area and proceed east for one mile to the intersection of Kalorama Drive. Marchers will include residents who have gathered at the Ventura County Government Center every Saturday in support of the troops, Monahan said.

“It’s going to be a lot of green and yellow in this parade, with red, white and blue on top,” Monahan said.

Military officials have not announced when the first local troops will come home, although a spokeswoman for the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme said a Seabee contingent is expected to be back in the United States this month. The base has two 600-man battalions stationed in the Gulf, Linda Wadley said.

Officials with the Naval Air Reserve at Point Mugu and the Channel Islands Air National Guard base said they do not know when troops might return. About 180 men and women from both contingents are in the Mideast.

But four Ventura County cities are already gearing up for parades. Camarillo officials said they are considering a homecoming parade next month.

Other cities, including Moorpark, Santa Paula, Oxnard, Fillmore and Thousand Oaks, are considering victory celebrations for the Gulf War veterans on the Fourth of July.

Members of the Operation Desert Shield Support Group in Simi Valley, made up of parents whose sons and daughters are in the Gulf, plan to commemorate the peace with a party in May, founder Barbara Larsen said.

“We don’t want to let the patriotism die,” she said. “It feels too good.”