Annual Veterans Day celebration returns Nov. 7

Published 5:15 am Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Area residents will have the opportunity to recognize the service of local veterans on Nov. 7 at the Cullman Elks Lodge’s annual Cullman County Veterans Day Celebration at Cullman Regional Airport. 

Event organizer Ken Brown, a retired Air Force colonel, said this year’s Veterans Day Celebration will be returning to Cullman Regional Airport after taking place at Sportsman Lake park last year, which will allow for more aircraft and vehicles to be on display to hopefully attract a crowd to honor the area’s veterans.

“I really, really hope that people will understand that it’s very meaningful to all of these guys and gals that have been through this to have the public come out and show that they care,” he said. 

The event is free of charge and offers free parking, and is set to begin at 9 a.m. and run until around 3 p.m. Free CARTS bus service will be available for those who need a ride from the parking area to the event. 

Brown said Hunstville has canceled its usual Veterans Day activities and Birmingham has cut back on some of theirs, but Cullman’s is looking like it will be bigger than ever and may attract some of the people who normally attend the other events.

“We actually have a bigger show planned this year than we’ve ever had before,” he said. “Our event’s probably going to be the biggest veterans’ event in North Alabama this year.”

While they won’t be required for entry, all visitors are encouraged to wear masks or facial coverings, and there will be plenty of hand sanitizer on hand and lots of space among the different exhibits on the airport runway to allow for social distancing, he said. 

Brown said local veteran Julian Campbell, who flew 40 B-26 bombing missions in World War II before flying planes over Korea and Vietnam, will be the grand marshall for the opening ceremony that will take place at 10 a.m. 

The other special guest for the day will be Brad Freeman, a World War II veteran who is the last surviving enlisted member of Easy Company. Easy Company, or the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and their actions in the war were the subject of the HBO series “Band of Brothers.”

There will also be several vehicles on display, including four vintage aircraft from World War II, Brown said. 

The first of those aircraft is the B-25 bomber, which was made famous by the Doolittle Raid, which was a bombing raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle just four months after Pearl Harbor. 

Brown said all of the service members who took part in the Doolittle Raid have passed away, but there will be a member of the Doolittle Raiders organization who will be on hand to answer any questions from visitors. 

Also on hand will be a C-47 Skytrain, which was used to drop paratroopers during World War II, and the plane coming to Cullman will be one that actually dropped troops into France on D-Day, Brown said. 

“It’s a pretty historic airplane,” he said. 

Brown said there will be active-duty soldiers from Fort Benning who act as reenactors in their free time who will be dressed in WWII uniforms and be on hand to speak to visitors as they tour the plane. 

Two World War II fighter planes, the F4U Corsair and P-41 Mustang, will also be coming to the Veterans Celebration, Brown said. 

There will be reenactors in WWII flight suits with the Corsair, and Eckenrod Ford will be hosting a Mustang show next to the P-41, so attendees can see the WWII fighter plane alongside muscle cars of the same name from throughout the years, he said. 

The planes will be on display for visitors to get a close look at them, and as the aircraft depart the show at the end of the day, they will perform a fly-by and aerial demonstration before heading home, Brown said.

The schedule for the day’s events includes:

9 a.m. – Cullman County Republican Women will dress up in 1940’s outfits to serve free coffee to veterans and their spouses

10 a.m. – The opening ceremony with Grand Marshall Julian Campbell

11 a.m. – A WWII jazz concert by the Wallace State Community College Jazz Band

12 p.m. – Free lunch served to all veterans and their spouses

1:30 p.m. – Military veterans from Skydive Alabama will perform a parachute jump into the airport 

More information about the Cullman County Veterans Day Celebration and a full itinerary can be found at cullmanveteransday.com.