Veterans Day Ceremonies Planned

Downtown Duluth streets are now lined with more than 500 markers bearing the names of those who served in the U.S. armed forces. The markers and flags, displayed during the week before and after Veterans Day, set the stage for ceremonies honoring veterans in Gwinnett County and Duluth.

Gwinnett County will host the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville. The public is invited to attend this observance to pay tribute to the men and women who have served honorably in the military, during wartime or peacetime, and to memorialize the fallen heroes who have sacrificed their lives to protect the United States.

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash, District 1 Gwinnett Commissioner Shirley Lasseter and Gwinnett County Administrator Glenn Stephens will lead this year’s ceremony. The keynote address will be given by retired Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Kaufman, president of Georgia Gwinnett College.

Honor guard units from Gwinnett County Police, Fire and Emergency Services and Sheriff’s Departments and the Lawrenceville Police Department will also take part in the event. No new names will be added to the memorial during this year’s ceremony.

The Veterans Day Ceremony will be televised at 7:30 p.m. Friday on TVgwinnett, the county’s local government access cable channel. TVgwinnett programming is also available streaming and on demand at www.tvgwinnett.com.

The Gwinnett Fallen Heroes Memorial, located on the grounds of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, 75 Langley Drive, honors all Gwinnett residents who died in the line of duty in military or public service. The memorial, erected in 2003, was built with funds from private donations and Gwinnett County government. 

The Rotary Club of South Gwinnett County is planning a special luncheon and recognition for World War II veterans Friday, Nov. 11, at noon. About 40 veterans and their guests will be honored at the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place, 1775 Pleasant Hill Road, in Duluth.

The veterans include members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Corps, and Marines who served in all the major theaters of the war. Several were involved in the D-Day invasion. Their decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and the Legion of Merit.

The featured speaker representing Third United States Army will be Col. Robert Young, deputy chief of staff for strategic relocation. 

Among the honorees at the luncheon is a member of Third Army during its drive across Europe under Gen. George Patton.

The Button Gwinnett Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution will display the colors during the event dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms.

The Sentinels of Freedom Gwinnett will host a fund-raising dinner to benefit and support disabled veterans in Gwinnett County at the 1818 Club in Duluth. U.S. Army SSgt. Jeremy Wilczek, recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart, will be honored at the event.

A cocktail dinner buffet begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. featuring U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) as the keynote speaker. Woodall will be introduced by Commissioner Lasseter.

Cost to attend is $50 a person. The 1818 Club is located at 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Sentinels of Freedom Gwinnett in presenting the event. A copy of the invitation is available on the Sentinels of Freedom website by clicking here.

Congressman Woodall is also attending Gwinnett County’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center and the Rotary Club of South Gwinnett’s Veterans Day luncheon at the Gwinnett Place Marriott.

American Legion Post 251 will celebrate Veterans Day with a flag retirement ceremony at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.

The public is invited to join in this rare opportunity to view the proper disposal of an unserviceable United States flag.

Anyone wishing to have their unserviceable flags disposed of properly are asked to bring them to the American Legion Post located at 2760 Duluth Highway 120 in Duluth.

Duluth City Hall and Gwinnett County offices will be closed in observance of Veterans Day Friday. They will reopen for normal business hours Monday. Gwinnett County haulers will pick trash up as usual on Veterans Day.