When the drums started to roll and the trumpets started to blare the first few notes of "America the Beautiful," hundreds of faces lining both sides of Market Street lit up and looked to the band marching up the street.
The crowd turned out Friday morning to cheer and wave miniature American flags at the column of high school students, local officials and veterans who processed in patriotic aplomb through downtown Chattanooga for the city's 69th annual Armed Forces Day Parade.
Before the event began, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., stood in front of the Westin hotel on Pine Street and praised Chattanoogans for the support they consistently demonstrate for members of the armed services.
"I've told everyone from the president of the United States to world leaders that Chattanooga is the most patriotic city in America," he said. "This is Armed Forces Week and it is so important that we honor all of the men and women who are serving in all of our great branches and also our veterans."
Every year, the city honors a different branch of the military, and Fleischmann said this year's parade was meant to focus on the United States Coast Guard.
"The Coast Guard has had a strong inland waterway presence in America. Chattanooga is no exception. We have a strong, active, vibrant Coast Guard community here that's served us well," he said.
Standing with Fleischmann before the parade was Vice Adm. Charles Ray, deputy commandant for operations for the Coast Guard, who was invited by Fleischmann to lead the procession.
"I am really excited to be here in Chattanooga today and I'm really thankful for the congressman inviting me here to participate in this patriotic demonstration of support for our armed forces," Ray said. "You hear a lot about this event, and so to get to be here firsthand to participate in it, I can't say enough about how much it means to the men and women of the services for this kind of patriotic display."
Ray has served across the globe and in six Coast Guard Air Stations from Alaska to the Caribbean, earning more than 5,000 hours of helicopter flight time over the course of his career. He said it was a privilege to participate in a parade through this city on the Tennessee River.
In addition to being a military force, he said, members of the Coast Guard serve as both law enforcement and first responders to safeguard the nation's waterways and the well-being of cities such as Chattanooga.
"We're a military service and have been for over 228 years," he said. "We've been in every conflict that our nation has been in and we're an advocate and a regulator of maritime industry, so whenever there is river traffic on this great river, we are responsible for making sure the river is navigable for those."
"It's really an honor to get to come to a great river city like Chattanooga, and the rivers are important to our service as they are to our nation."
Parents put their toddlers on their shoulders to get a better view of the hundreds of high school students from area high schools who marched in sharp JROTC or band uniforms. Veterans, too, stood with family and friends to watch the procession and salute many of those marching who also wore uniforms.
Robert Johnson, a Vietnam veteran, stood in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse steps snapping photos of the various marching groups as they passed his self- selected post in the shade of a tree.
"I think it's great to see so many young people come out to show off what they can do and do it all for a good cause," he said. "A lot of people don't appreciate what these men and women do for all of us, and I know too many people who served but fell through the cracks when they finally came home."
"This is a reminder that those people haven't been forgotten."
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.