A massive group of World War II veterans arrived in D.C. today to an ill-timed government shutdown expecting to still be let in to tour their memorial.

People on the scene reported that the vets "pushed down" gates surrounding the memorial. Further reports say that authorities gave in and opened the memorial, while the official word from park police was that they were "seeking guidance on how to respond."

Meanwhile, the storming vets had a soundtrack.

CNN reports:

Busloads of World War II veterans, many in wheelchairs, broke past a barricade Tuesday to cross into the World War II Memorial, as onlookers applauded and a man playing the bagpipes led the way.

Here's a photo tweeted by Leo Shane of Stars and Stripes, after vets "knocked over" barriers intended to keep them from the memorial:

Honor flight vets just knocked over the barriers at the WWII memorial to get inside, #shutdown or no. pic.twitter.com/T4bx8kvFYj — Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013

Another tweet from WSJ's Allison Prang shows vets pushing beyond the barriers:

WWII Memorial has shutdown signs at some entrances, but Mississippi honor flight walking through memorial pic.twitter.com/RQiPMfGYDA — Allison Prang (@AllisonPrang) October 1, 2013

Brandon Kopp, a D.C. photorgrapher, tweeted this image of an enormous group of vets and their supporters arriving at the memorial. Certainly no one can expect to keep them out:

Keeps getting better. Am honor flight of veterans locked out of the WWII Memorial. #governmentshutdown #dc pic.twitter.com/YYheZZZvvc — Brandon Kopp (@brandonmkopp) October 1, 2013

Here's a Vine video of the vets from the scene: