Thousands lined Pacific Highway in downtown San Diego today for the 11th annual Veterans Day Parade, which featured as grand marshal the retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
Retired Gen. Robert Cardenas, who piloted the B-29 bomber that launched Yeager's aircraft in 1947, and Bob Hoover, who flew the chase plane, were also honored in the parade.
Former prisoners of war, World War II veterans who recently took part in an "Honor Flight'' to Washington, D.C., to see a memorial honoring that conflict, Mayor Jerry Sanders and numerous high school marching bands also participated.
"There have been times when we veterans had thought people kind of forgotten us, and this day focuses on the fact that they haven't,'' a man wearing a cap signifying service in the Korean War told CBS8. "We appreciate it very much.''
The parade was one of several events around San Diego over the holiday weekend to honor veterans, including a service at the Mt. Soledad Memorial on Saturday and a college basketball game aboard the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum on Sunday.
