Old Soldiers Day Parade to Fill Alpharetta Streets on Saturday

By Bob Pepalis 

The 61st Old Soldiers Day Parade will fill the streets of downtown Alpharetta on Saturday, Aug. 3, and this year the viewing area has expanded to Milton Avenue.

Alpharetta and American Legion Post 201 present the Old Soldiers Day Parade as a way to recognize war veterans for their service.

Roads in and around downtown Alpharetta, Wills Park and American Legion Post 201 will be closed during the race and parade according to a road closure plan.

The day starts with the 35th annual Old Soldiers Day Road Race, which begin at 7 a.m. Race day registration for the 5K and 10K races will start at 6 a.m. in the parking lot behind the city pool for $25 per participant. Online registration is available at the city's website.

The Alpharetta City Band starts its performance at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday in front of Alpharetta City Hall next to the official viewing stand. The Old Soldiers Day program begins at 10 a.m., and features retired Air Force Col. Leon "Lee" Ellis, the parade grand marshall and guest speaker.

Ellis is a former fighter pilot who endured 5½ years as a prisoner of war in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison near Hanoi. Today he is a Fox News military analyst, executive coach and corporate consultant. He is the author of “Leading with Honor,” also the theme of the 61st Old Soldiers Day Parade.

To view the parade, bring a chair or a blanket along Milton Avenue; or head south on Main Street/ GA 9 for the parade, band and reviewing stand; or take a right onto Old Milton Parkway to Roswell Street. The parade will continue to the American Legion Post 201 so come and enjoy the free food and activities.

The event will be held rain or shine.

The Old Soldiers Day Parade began as a tribute to veterans of the war between the states, but was discontinued after a few years. Twenty–eight years later, in 1952, a small group of men in Alpharetta re-dedicated Old Soldiers Day Parade in Alpharetta and started having a parade through downtown Alpharetta.

The Alpharetta City Pool will open at 1 p.m. on Old Soldiers Day, after the parade has finished.