Gadsden AL - going all out!
Veterans-related events to be combined into Season of Honor this fall in Gadsden
Gadsden Times
Gadsden and Etowah County residents are traditionally cognizant of military veterans and their service, and this year four events recognizing veterans will be combined into a single Season of Honor.
Tina Morrison, executive director of Greater Gadsden Tourism, outlined the plan to the Etowah County Commission and the Gadsden City Council on Aug. 6.
“We want to show everyone how much Etowah County cherishes and honors our veterans,” Morrison told commissioners, noting that two existing events will be combined with two new ones.
This year's parade is Nov. 11 and will be paired with three other veteran-related events to form a Season of Honors First up on Oct. 6 will be a stop in Gadsden for the Bama Rama 500. The event, scheduled for Oct. 4-13, is part of the Navy ‘83 Ride Across America. Graduates in the Class of 1983 at the U.S. Naval Academy have been riding bicycles across the country to raise funds to support veterans. In the Bama Rama 500, they’ll travel roughly 500 miles from Huntsville to Orange Beach. Morrison said roughly 20 riders and 10 support crew members will spent the night in Gadsden on Oct. 6. She said the tourism organization is asking people to “come out and wave flags and wave them in.” The riders will be staying in veteran-discounted rooms at Gadsden Inn and Suites and will receive an escort to that lodging. Then they’ll be shuttled to the Ola Lee Mize Patriots Park at Noccalula Falls Park for a ceremony, then treated to dinner. (Sponsors are being sought to help fund the meal.) The following morning, before resuming their ride, the veterans will meet in the parking ot and do 22 pushups to commemorate the 22 veterans who statistics show lose their lives to suicide each day.
“A Walk Through Time,” the annual event where portrayers clad in period costumes share the life stories and accomplishments of people buried in Forrest Cemetery, is set for 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 20, and this year will focus on World War II veterans. Oct. 31 will be “Frank Towers Day” in Gadsden — Morrison said the tourism group will seek an official designation — honoring the former local police officer who is considered Alabama’s first fatality in World War II. A celebration is planned. Towers, a chief gunner’s mate on the USS Reuben James, was one of 115 people (out of 160 on board) who died when the escort destroyer was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine west of Iceland on Oct. 31, 1941, a little more than five weeks before the U.S. officially entered World War II after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The native of Leesburg, who grew up in Boaz before moving to Gadsden, reportedly nhad gotten off the ship safely, but returned to try to help rescue others.
Folk singer Woody Guthrie later commemorated the sinking of the Reuben James in a song, and Towers; loss is noted by a star on the sidewalk on Broad Street in downtown Gadsden.
The Season of Honor will conclude at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11 with the annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Gadsden, following the Gadsden-Etowah Patriots Association’s Hall of Honor luncheon. Those who attend all four events can enter to win a free vacation in Gadsden and lodging and restaurant discounts are available for veterans. For more information, visit greatergadsden.com.
Morrison also noted that three Gadsden-Etowah County sites are part of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association's new North Alabama Patriot Trail. It’s similar to other thematic trails offered by the association across its 16-county region. Included locally are the Col. Ola Lee Mize Patriots Park and Etowah County War Memorial at Noccalula Falls Park, Memorial Bridge on Broad Street and the War Memorial on Chastain Boulevard West in Glencoe. Visit www.northalabama.org for more information.