As the sun rose over Broughton, the flag flew proudly, anticipating the day's festivities.  See if you can match the photos with the captions below

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Perhaps in a nod to its everlasting presence on the battlefield, the City chose to display it as if it came straight from one.

The media presence arrived early and squatted at the intersection of Broughton and Bull. BROUGHTONSTREET.COM, however, is not one to let others jack prime shooting real estate on our own namesake; so we thrust our roving band of photographers (read: two) out into the crowds to cover the action.

Stealthily on foot, we were able to catch many a sight that the big boys couldn't. Too bad your platform's facing the wrong way, WTOC-TV! You're no match for the ninja journalism of BROUGHTONSTREET.COM! 

Here a vehicle owner got a friendly lift out of the way of the oncoming madness. (Perhaps homeboy didn't spot the parking sign 3 feet from his car that very clearly said in red NO PARKING UNTIL AFTER THE PARADE...THIS ALSO APPLIES TO YOU, MORON WITH A WHITE FORD SUV.)

The towing was just another example of Savannah's Finest hard at work, serving and protecting. 

Crowds came out early, with people parking their butts in the good seats as early as 9:30.

Some were so excited, they joined in the parade later.

Faced with a potential onslaught of bladder-filled mania, Broughton Street businesses were forced to ration their facilities.

Some parade-watchers were lucky enough to stumble upon great views of the action completely by accident. For instance, here's Donna and Kenny, a lovely couple from Topeka, Kansas, on vacation in the First City. They also managed to find a great parking spot, only waited five minutes for a table at Lady & Sons, and have yet to get stuck in traffic behind a horse carriage tour. (We wanted to tell them what it's really like, but we didn't want to spoil it.)

Leading the march were, of course, the Scottish pipers. I mean, honestly, what music is more American than bagpipes? 

The focus of the day, though, shouldn't be taken away from its origins - the men and women in uniform. A parade like this is a rare chance to honor and respect all three generations of our veterans in person:

Civilian students of area high schools were also presented and accounted for, including several bands...

...And one of the peculiarities of Savannah's secondary extracurriculars: the Windsor Forest Chatelaines. Not really cheerleaders, not really dancers, just a team of girls marching in white boots and gloves and making jerky robotic hand gestures. Instead of getting the crowd to cheer, they inspire fired-up onlookers to badly imitate martial artists and poplocking breakdancers. They're well-coordinated and very skillful at it, though. (Hey, nobody said the participants in these things had to make sense. Just wait and see.)

One of the schools included a small school bus with a HOLYCRAPTHATISLOUD version of the Star-Spangled Banner turned up to eleven. BROUGHTONSTREET.COM attempted to capture a segment of audio for you to experience the majesty. Alas, our sophisticated equipment was no match for the concentrated patriotic force of the Anthem Bus, which ran roughshod over our decibel level thresholds and surely pummeled any freedom-haters in attendance into submission.

All in all, your average parade-goer mostly got the expected fare: veterans, soldiers, bands, politicians, eardrum-destroying buses, etc. Towards the end of the parade, though, things took a turn. A very unexpected turn, down a very random road.

Despite the calendar clearly reading November, the Alee Shriners Club decided to end the parade in Halloween fashion, busting out costumes that had pretty much no tie-in whatsoever to veterans, the military, or patriotism. First up: the always welcome Redneckmobile, with Shriners in full hillbilly regalia, Deliverance's "Dueling Banjos" on the jukebox, and a car that was probably powered by bare feet a la Fred Flintstone.

Pirates. Always with the pirates in this town. This time, it's pirates on a huge ship-shaped bus, blasting Motley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls". All of which is completely apropos on Veterans Day, of course. A tip of the hat to you, Savannah, and your buccaneer-crazy ways.

Who else to bring up the caboose, but the clowns, with a vehicle adorned in their clown iconography terrifying many an onlooking child and the Benny Hill "Yakety Sax" pouring out the speakers.

Despite the bizarre, almost surreal finish, Savannah came out for another public party in the street, heartily enjoyed by BROUGHTONSTREET.COM and the rest of the revelers. Subdued enough to pay respect, yet festive enough to get 'em to show up. Well done.

Postscript

In the midst all of the celebration, let us not forget those who couldn't be at the parade...

And those who could be, but remain invisible to us and carry on. They are our true heroes.

(Nearly 400,000 U.S. military veterans are homeless at some point during the year. For more information on how you can do your part, please learn more about and visit The Foundation for Homeless Veterans.)

(photos by Chris and Sarah Pieper)