Chattanooga Honors Military in 69th Annual Armed Forces Day Parade
Hamilton County and the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council will salute military members in the 69th annual Armed Forces Day parade, Friday, May 4 at 10:30 a.m. in downtown Chattanooga. Each year, the parade features one branch of the military, and the service being honored this year is the Coast Guard. The procession will travel northward on Market St. from MLK, following a flyover by an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater.
Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of the Hamilton County Department of Education, is this year’s parade marshal. Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray, Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations, will serve as the parade’s reviewing officer and will speak at a luncheon immediately following the parade.
Vice Admiral Ray is responsible for oversight of Coast Guard missions, programs and services. He has served as the Pacific Area Commander, the Deputy Pacific Area Commander, the Fourteenth Coast Guard District Commander, as Director of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission for the Ministry of Interior and as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security.
Shortly after graduating from the Coast Guard Academy, he was selected for naval flight training, and, during the course of his career, he accumulated over 5,000 hours of helicopter flight time. Ray’s personal awards include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, five Legion of Merit Medals, one Bronze Star Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, one Coast Guard Air Medal, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. Earlier this year, he was selected to become the next Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The parade procession includes over 95 entries, such as marching bands, JROTC units, military vehicles, civic and volunteer organizations and area businesses. Immediately following the flyover, the H-60 Jayhawk will land at Ross’s Landing, where it will remain for several hours for public viewing. The parade and helicopter display are free, family-friendly activities, and everyone is invited to come downtown to enjoy the sights and sounds of one of the longest-running Armed Forces Day observances in the nation.
For more information, visit the parade’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/chattafparade