The Chula Vista’s Marine Corps League Detachment 1207 had reasons other than Independence Day to celebrate July 4. The veteran service organization won the Director’s Sweepstakes trophy at the annual Coronado Independence Day celebration and parade.
The Director’s Sweepstakes is the most prestigious award handed out to a parade entry winner. This is the first time the detachment has won it.
But the winning for Chula Vista’s Marine Corps League Detachment didn’t end there.
The detachment also earned top honors in the parade’s military division for its sixth consecutive year. They received three first-place ribbons for winning this category.
“It’s absolutely an honor,” said Jim Thomas, a member of Chula Vista’s Marine Corps League Detachment 1207.
Thomas said the key to their successes is that the detachment always takes the parade seriously and looks for interesting ways to fine tune their production.
The award-winning detachment featured about 15 local organizations in their entry, such as the Gold Star Mothers, Wounded Warriors, Southwestern College Student Veterans Organization, the San Diego Young Marines Color Guard and members of the Chula Vista Veterans Advisory Commission.
Detachment members carried and walked with photos from the “Remembering Our Fallen” exhibit, military veterans who died fighting the war on terrorism.
Among the parade highlights was the detachment’s Never Forgotten Memorial Truck, which honored more than 4,200 men and women who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The truck was plastered with pictures of military personnel from those two wars.
Cheryl Perez, an associate member of the Chula Vista League Detachment and a commissioner on the city of Chula Vista’s Veterans Advisory Commission, said their entry not only won awards but also won the hearts of spectators.
“We got a standing ovation from the start,” she said. “People had tears in their eyes.”
But being the best detachment at this event didn’t come easy, they faced stiff competition from another Marine Corps League Detachment, including the Bull Dogs, who raised the Iwo Jima flag.
Riding in the detachment 1207 float and trailer were members of the detachment, residents of the Veterans Home of Chula Vista and the Ladies Auxiliary Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Perez said their entry in the two-hour parade was about a mile long.
Thomas said the detachment will be ready for next year’s parade as they are every year.
“We always look forward to it,” Thomas said. “We’ll tweak a few things and make it better.”
