More than two dozen of San Diego’s color guards lined up in varying military uniforms, carrying American flags and marching to the beat of the drums in Balboa Park on Saturday. For nearly 70 years local veterans and color guards have gathered for the San Diego chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars’ annual Massing of the Colors ceremony to honor the American flag and those who’ve served the nation. “We’ve been doing that … to stimulate love of our country and flag, to promote patriotic education in our nation, and defend the supremacy of our Constitution,” said veteran George “Ted” Parsons, who served in Vietnam and is currently region XIV commander of the MOWW. Saturday’s ceremony at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion — in its 68th year locally — is also held by MOWW chapters and other veteran organizations across the U.S., Parsons said. Color guards marched with rifles and various flags, including vintage and modern versions of the American flag. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune) Its participants include active-duty military from all branches and junior ROTC from local high schools across the region, as well as local fire agencies, Scout troops and lineage groups, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution. While a majority don their military dress clothes, others also come in Colonial and pioneer period attire or re-enactor garb. “For nearly 250 years, our nation has persevered and prospered through thick and thin … promoting freedom and democracy throughout the world,” said keynote speaker Air Force Lt. Col. David Worley, a Vietnam War veteran and the national MOWW’s commander-in-chief. “It is because of the love of our country that brave men and women perish defending our nation’s flags. “These are the heroes of whom we must continue to honor. These are the heroes Americans must never forget.” A drum corps marches after the 68th annual Massing of the Colors ceremony. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune) Among the roughly 50 people in the audience Saturday was 95-year-old Joedy Cronin Adams, who teared up when she heard Worley recite The American’s Creed, a 100-word credo of the nation’s basic principles, that was written by her grandfather William Tyler Page and adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1918. “I about fell through the roof,” Adams said. “I just have never heard anyone do that. … I just was so thrilled to have that happen. It was amazing.” Adams is also a child survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as her dad was stationed at Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station when she was 12 years old. “We have so much to be grateful for,” she said. “I just love to come every year.” Back in the 1960s when Adams was a Girl Scout troop leader, she would bring her troop to participate in the ceremony every year. “We always had a color guard, and my daughter was in it,” Adams said. “I always had her carry the American flag because I didn’t want to see anything happen to it — she knew how valuable it was.” Passersby at Balboa Park stop to watch the ceremony Saturday. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune) Throughout the ceremony, other families walking or biking through Balboa Park steadily streamed into the pavilion to see what was going on. “I have never seen anything like this,” said Jing Xiu, who was visiting from Hong Kong. “It is very cool to see American patriotism. … I am glad to have joined this.” It’s that patriotism that the annual ceremony strives to instill in Americans, especially the younger generation. “Patriotism is a virtue,” Worley said. “The rights and freedoms of this great country have been defended by not only all our military people, but it takes the youth of today to keep things going.” Various color guards stand at attention. (Sandy Huffaker / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)