Athens will honor its veterans on Wednesday, November 11, with the annual Athens Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony, this year themed “Honoring All Who Served – Freedom 250” as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, according to the event announcement published by the Athens County Independent. The parade steps off at 10:15 a.m., with Court Street offering the main vantage point for spectators.
The announcement, published by the Athens County Independent, says Ohio University’s Marching 110 will make its long-awaited return to the parade, joined by several local high school marching bands, Ohio University’s Student Veterans of America and local veterans’ organizations. Community members are encouraged to line the route and show their support for those who have served.
The ceremony follows at 11 a.m. at the West Portico of Memorial Auditorium on Ohio University’s College Green. The featured speaker, according to the Athens County Independent, will be Lieutenant Colonel Mike Jackson, USAF (Ret.), a decorated combat pilot, author and Ohio University alumnus who flew 210 combat missions in Vietnam and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and a Purple Heart. After his Air Force career he served as executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and founded Operation Welcome Home, and Ohio University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2012, the Independent reported.
Groups that want to march still have a narrow window to enter. Parade entries — open to individuals, businesses, organizations, marching groups and motorcycle groups, with banners, floats and vehicles welcome — are due by Wednesday, November 4, with lineup beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Morris Avenue on parade day, according to the announcement in the Athens County Independent. Entry forms can be delivered to American Legion Post 21 in Athens, which is coordinating entries.
The day around the parade is built around veterans and their families. American Legion Post 21 will serve breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. and lunch immediately after the ceremony, Ohio University will host a breakfast for faculty, staff and student veterans and families from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at 29 Park Place, and AMVETS 76 will provide lunch following the ceremony, according to the Athens County Independent.
The observance closes in the evening at the Athena Cinema, where Ohio University alumna and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Robin Smith will present her documentaries “He’s Only Missing” (1978) and “Letting Go” (1995), which chronicle her family’s search for answers about her father, Colonel Robert N. Smith, whose plane was shot down over North Vietnam in 1969. Light refreshments begin at 7 p.m. and the showing follows at 7:30 p.m., according to the Athens County Independent.
What happens next: parade entries close Wednesday, November 4, and the parade and ceremony themselves take place on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11 — parade at 10:15 a.m. on Court Street, ceremony at 11 a.m. at Memorial Auditorium.