There’s one major Memorial Day event in East Cobb on Monday, a 5K/10K run at the LA Fitness Center on Piedmont Road at Sandy Plains Road that’s free for veterans to enter. There are several official Memorial Day observances nearby, including the Marietta National Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony.
That service starts at noon and the cemetery is located at 500 Washington Ave. It’s staged by the National Memorial Day Association of Georgia.
The event will be led by Georgia Army National Guard Brig. Thomas H. Blackstock, Jr., commander of the 78th Troop Command. Keynote speaker will be retired Army Maj. Gen. Charles M. Hood Jr. The reflections speaker will be Col. Edward “Rusty” Hightower, Georgia State Defense Force chief of staff at the Marietta cemetery.
The honoree organization is the Georgia World War I Centennial Commission, which will hold events around the state through November, the 100th anniversary of the end of the war.
Here are some other official Memorial Day events in Cobb and elsewhere:
- At 9:30 a.m., Smyrna will hold its ceremony at the Twentieth Century Veterans Memorial, 2800 Bank Street (between Smyrna City Hall and the Smyrna Library). The event and parking are free and open to all. Scheduled speakers are retired Army Lt. Gen. Steve Arnold and retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. Victoria Turney. The ceremony will feature the Georgia Army National Guard Band, Campbell High School JROTC, and the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard;
- At the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield (900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, Kennesaw), also at noon, artillerists explain the steps of firing a cannon by detailing the role of each person working the cannon. Afterwards, the process is performed in real time and the cannon is fired. The program is free and open to the public;
- At 11 a.m. at Roswell City Hall (38 Hill Street, Roswell) is Roswell Remembers, which says it’s the largest Memorial Day ceremony in Georgia and includes a 21-gun salute. Live music and BBQ will be available after the ceremony.
