Fleet Week: Military pride on display in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) -- The city's annual Fleet Week observance is hitting its stride this weekend with up to one million spectators expected to descend on San Francisco this weekend for the area's annual event.

The Fleet Week festivities featured the parade of ships passing under the Golden Gate Bridge. For San Jose native, Corporal Jacob Aronen, it was a dream come true.

"When I was a little kid I was able to come out and watch the Blue Angels," Aronen said. "And now I'm a part of it. It's like the coolest thing ever."

"It's really symbolic (and I) always get a thrill when I see Navy ships," said Jack Vance, who is visiting from Virginia. He said he worked on Navy ships for several years on the East coast several years ago.

"I've always liked seeing sailors come into town and the Marines. My grandpa was in the Marines so that was special," said Wendy Rasmussen who brought her baby son to the event for the first time.

The U.S. Marine Core's Silent Drill Platoon wowed onlookers on the Marina Green with a rifle demonstration.

Kyle Lassetter of the USMC Silent Drill Platoon, said the group performs for parades and other events like the Thursday night half-time show for the 49ers football game.

He said they train the Marines for 2 1/2 month months for the Platoon. And the USMC uses it as a recruiting tool as a way to build pride in the U.S. military.

"The Marine Corps is still alive; the discipline's still there, the honor and the esprit de corps is still there," Lassetter said.

"It's just the amount of energy that they put into it," said Sapna Nagaraju of Fremont. "It's just a great feeling."

The USMC 1st Marine Division band also enthralled onlookers in the West Portal neighborhood Friday morning with its patriotic tuba-blasting tunes.

But the highlight of Fleet Week for most is the Air Show, which runs Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The stars of the show are usually the Blue Angels.

"It really moves me because my father was a lieutenant in World War II in the Navy and that has brought a flood of memories back to me," said Donene Harrison, who lives in Cupertino.

"It's something that I'm never going to forget and I'm going to be forever thankful for this experience," said Cpl. Nicolas Valles, USMC who sailed in on the USS San Diego on Monday.

For a complete list of events, click here.

By KTVU reporter Tara Moriarty.