VERY COOL

More than 11,000 Marines and sailors marched through downtown Saturday as thousands of people welcomed home the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.

Cheering parade watchers were stacked 12 deep in places for a mile along Coast Highway, many of them holding flags or signs that said "Thank You." Red, white and blue confetti filled the air.

The Defenders of Freedom Parade was originally to include only active-duty personnel and the Oceanside and El Camino high school bands. But Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, commanding general of the expeditionary force, asked city officials if Vietnam War veterans could march behind his command staff.

"I finally got my parade," Vietnam veteran C.C. Sanders said afterward.