Veterans Park event will mark US Army's 250th birthday
TUPELO – On Tuesday, June 3, attorney Jak Smith had an idea, and in the days that followed, he put fast action to it.
In a week's time, Smith has planned a gathering to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States Army.
All are invited to pay homage to the U.S. Army on Saturday, June 14, at Veterans Park. The party will begin at 9 a.m.
"I figured I might not make the Army's 300th birthday," Smith said. "So, I decided I was going to do something for the 250th. We may have five people attend; we may have 50. But this is something I wanted to do."
Here's what's on tap for Saturday morning's celebration: The Tupelo High School ROTC will be on hand for the posting of the colors; Sabrina Ganaway will sing the National Anthem; and a bagpipe player will provide music.
Also, there will be a birthday cake.
Speakers, all Army veterans, will include Bro. Chester Harrison, Col. Roger Johnson, Brigadier General Kelly Mims and Smith.
"Chester Harrison is a pastor who married my wife and I on Lebanon Mountain in Prentiss County in 1993," Smith said.
Harrison will give a benediction and share some of his own Army experiences.
"He was a machine gunner who served on the front line in Vietnam," Smith said.
Col. Roger Johnson is senior Army instructor of Tupelo High School's Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Circuit Court Judge Kelly Mims served in the Army National Guard 34 years and retired as a brigadier general.
Smith, a 1970 graduate of West Point Military Academy, spent eight years in the Army in Colorado and in the 11th Cavalry in Europe as an artillery officer. He's more than a history buff; Smith can fire off dates and events from farther back than most can even remember.
And he especially knows the U.S. Army, in which he proudly served.
It was May 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia and delegates resolved to create an army that would represent not just New England, but all the British colonies in North America.
"In June of that same year, George Washington was unanimously chosen as the commander-in-chief," Smith said. "Washington really set the tone for what the Army should be."
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