Events will be held locally throughout the weekend and on Memorial Day to honor those who lost their lives on the battlefield in service to the US.
The Exchange Club of Rome’s Americanism Committee’s annual Memorial Day event will take place at the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds. As in years past, there will be displays of military history for the public to view this Saturday and Sunday from 10 am until 4 pm and this Monday from 11 am until 3 pm. There will also be an Old School Cruisers Car Show on Saturday from 10 am until 2 pm and Cruise-in on Sunday from 3 pm until 5 pm. A Memorial Day Ceremony will be held this Monday at 10 am and will feature LTC D. Heath Williams, US Army (retired).
The Shannon Memorial Day program will occur on Monday at 12 pm noon at the World War 2 Monument outside the old Brighton Mill. Lou Byars, soon-to-be retired Superintendent of the Rome City Schools and retired Captain in the US Army, will serve as the keynote speaker.
It is important to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the defense of our freedom, asserts Byars.
Byars has ties to the Shannon community as he once worked at Brighton and is current pastor of the Shannon First Baptist Church. His wife Gina is also a Shannon native.