Proud to be an American

Jose Paul Corona

As America celebrates its Independence Day while at war, for the first

time in 30 years, it remains a beacon of hope to millions.

That is one of the messages Rear Admiral Casey W. Coane will share

with crowds at today’s 98th annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July

Parade.

Coane, who works out of the Pentagon as the Reserve Deputy for Space

Information Warfare, Command and Control and Director of the Naval

Reserve Space and Network Warfare Program, flew in Tuesday from

Washington D.C. for the festivities.

Coane addressed a crowd Tuesday night at a town hall meeting and will

do so again before the city-sponsored fireworks display at Huntington

Beach High School.

Tuesday night he discussed the rebuilding efforts that are currently

taking place at the Pentagon.

“It’s the first time I’ve [spoken at] a venue such as this,” Coane

said.

He hoped by sharing his experience of the events of Sept. 11 and their

aftermath, as experienced on the East Coast, to help Californians feel

more connected with what has befallen the country.

“This is a new topic for me,” he said. “Immediately after the disaster

it was a matter of disaster control. People had to be located and fires

had to be put out.”

The Navy lost more then half of its office space in the attacks, he

said.

The Naval Command Center was particularly hard hit. It was temporarily

moved to another part of the city after the attacks, Coane said.

“There [were] a tremendous amount of people in that area,” he added.

The only reason more lives weren’t lost was because of recent

retrofitting that the building had undergone, Coane said.

Before the building could be rebuilt, it had to be completely gutted.

It was less than a month ago, on June 14, that the last piece of

limestone was put in place.

“We were fortunate,” Coane said, “The plane struck the strongest part

of the building.”

Preceding the fireworks Coane said he will discuss the turmoil that

all Americans are living in following the Sept. 11.

He plans to give an “uplifting speech” to all of those attending the

parade ceremonies and fireworks show.

“In uncertain times it’s great to be an American,” he said.

The tragic events have brought the country together and people are

working cohesively to try and stop terrorism, Coane said.

He will speak of the fight against terrorism.

“For the first time in 30 years, we are at war on the Fourth of July,”

Coane said. “We have been attacked.”

Regardless of what has happened, America is still a “shining beacon of

hope,” he said.

“People still want to immigrate to this country,” he said.

“As a Navy man I’m obviously proud to report that almost 400,000 men

and women are far away from family and friends,” he said. “Many of them

are in harms way [and] we want [their] families to know how proud of we

are [of them].”

While New York City is immediately associated with the terrorist

attacks, and viewed as the primary victim, there were other areas and

many other Americans who suffered and lost their lives.

That is what prompted Connie Young, parade public relations

consultant, to seek Coane.

The hope was to have the guest at this year’s parade bring Southern

California residents closer to the horrible events of Sept. 11.

Regardless of geographical location, many Southern California

residents have some sort of connection the tragedy, she added.

“Everyone is connected in some way,” Young said, “Somebody knows

somebody that lives on the East Coast or [that] was directly involved [in

the attacks].”

Coane and the rest of the special guests attending the parade will

bring Southern California and Huntington Beach residents closer to the

tragic events of this past year, Young said.

Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff is especially excited about this year’s

parade.

“To me, the Fourth of July in Huntington Beach is one of the

highlights of the year,” she said, adding that the special guests this

year will only make the parade that much more special.

* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at o7 jose.corona@latimes.com.f7