Special forces frogmen dropped into the sea from helicopters, jet fighters roared overhead, and huge fountains of water exploded from the sea as the port city of Inchon re-enacted the daring seaborne landing that turned the tide of the Korean war in 1950.
On September 15, the 60th anniversary of the operation, landing craft circled offshore, then 'Animal Company', 7th US Marines, surged over the sea wall, charging applauding veterans and officials sitting in viewing stands fronting the funfair that now stands on Wolmi Island ('Green Beach' during the battle).
It was part history, part Hollywood - Animal Company commander Captain Michael Borneo strode on dressed as US General Douglas MacArthur, while the 'landing force' charged off under a cloud of inflatable doves released into the sky - as the port city on the Yellow Sea welcomed ageing war veterans.
'There was lots of phoney stuff,' said Father Richard Rubie of Honolulu, a former US marine who landed in the second wave 60 years ago. 'But the memories came back.'
Among the ageing veterans specially invited over by the Korean government for the event were former US marines, British Royal Marine commandos and Royal Australian Navy sailors who had taken part.
'It brought tears to my eyes,' said LeRoy Dennler of St Louis, an ex-US marine medic, of the enactment. 'I am almost speechless.'