Look, Up in the Sky; It Must Be Veterans Day

You never quite know what to expect when you visit South Beach, but a parachutist floating from the sky with an American flag still wows this otherwise tough crowd every time.

So it went this morning at the eighth annual Miami Beach Veterans Parade and celebration, one of the biggest in the greater Miami area.

Veterans Day occurs on the 11th day of the 11th month, so the parade kicked off today at the 11th minute of the 11th hour, which of course was 11:11 a.m. for us civilians.

Featuring floats, and local VIPs, the parade ran along Ocean Drive from 5 Street to 14 Street, then turned up 14 Street to Flamingo Park Baseball Stadium at 1435 Michigan

The wow factor was provided by the All-Veterans Parachute Team, which dropped into Flamingo Park for a wreath-laying ceremony and picnic.

Veterans from the World War II Army Air Corp played a major role in the development of Miami Beach.

"Miami Beach was the training grounds for air servicemen in 1940s," according to a city officials. "Many South Beach hotels were used as housing for the troops that would march and exercise on the beach, golf club and streets on regulation drills. The county causeway was renamed the MacArthur Causeway in honor of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. After the war, many of these veterans with 'sands in their shoes' made Miami Beach their permanent home."