U.S. Coast Guard Senior Chief Malia Chasteen had one thought as she waited for Torrance’s 61st annual Armed Forces Day parade to begin on Saturday afternoon, May 20.
As she took in the scenes of families staking out their spots on sidewalks, banners festooned on light posts and military vehicles lined up along Torrance Boulevard, Chasteen felt inspired.
“Sign me back in,” she said.
But first, she had more pressing duties to attend to.
Mid-parade, Chasteen was promoted to a two-star officer, becoming the first African American woman to become Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“She’s big time and we’re so proud of her,” said Vince Patton, a retired master chief who flew in from Washington, D.C., for the occasion. “This is history.”
About 500 new recruits also took the oath of installation for all six branches of the United States Armed Forces Saturday in a rare public show led by the parade’s grand marshal, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Carola List.
The parade was the highlight of Torrance’s three-day celebration of the Armed Forces, which began Friday and returned in full for the first time in three years; it was nixed in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and then pared down last year. About 100,000 people were expected to attend the celebration over its three-day run.
Torrance boasts the nation’s longest running city-sponsored military parade – and it’s also one of the few sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Crowds lined Torrance Boulevard as the parade made its way from Crenshaw Boulevard to Madrona Avenue, waving at soldiers, sailors, World War II veterans and local politicians. They also gawked at military vehicles, cheered for marching units and horse regiments, and stared in awe at least three flyovers, from a B-25 bomber, three T-6 planes and a World War II-era PT-17.
This year’s honored service was the Coast Guard.
As such, Petty Officer First Class Andres Pulido, of Coast Guard…
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