Gainesville gearing up for Medal of Honor Sept. 22-25

Mike Eads Editor, Gainesville Daily Register, Texas
·2 min read

Sep. 10—Volunteers are still needed to help with this year's Medal of Honor celebrations.

Gainesville Mayor Tommy Moore said volunteers are looking forward to hosting the event this year more than ever .

Since 2001, the Medal of Honor Host City Program has hosted 56 Medal of Honor recipients who have inspired our community with their messages of patriotism, sacrifice, courage and life values. Several have RSVP'd for this year's event, despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

This year's schedule:

Wednesday, Sept. 22 — Recipient arrival at North Central Texas College in Gainesville;

Thursday, Sept. 23 — School visits, Visit Medal of Honor Park, Patriot Dinner (sold out);

Friday, Sept. 24 — Tree planting, the Medal of Honor Banquet (sold out);

Saturday, Sept. 25 — Medal of Honor Parade in downtown Gainesville (10-11 a.m.), MOH Fest with live music at the Farmers Market (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) following the Parade and a book signing at Civic Center (1-3 p.m.).

To get more information, visit medalofhonorhostcity.com.

Motorcade due late Wednesday

The annual trek of Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients from Dallas-Ft Worth Airport to Medal of Honor Weekend in Gainesville is set for Wednesday.

A historic number of public safety agencies are participating in the large motorcade escorting these highly decorated veterans all the way to Gainesville. Current estimates project the procession to stretch two miles long, with well over 50 vehicles between 4-5 p.m.

That will mean rush hour traffic delays between Dallas and Gainesville, as drivers are expected to pull over and make way for the motorcade. Some parts of highways 183, 360, 114, 121 and many access points along I-35 West and I-35 East will be temporarily shut down.

Participants will include:

Fire departments — Cooke County volunteer departments, Gainesville, Denton, Highland Village, Krum, Ft. Worth and several more.

Law Enforcement — Denton County Sheriff's Office, Gainesville Police, Euless Police, Lewisville Police, Texas Department of Public Safety and several more.

Volunteer Organizations — Patriot Guard Riders, Christian Motorcycle Association, Blue Knights Chapters, Denton County and Southlake CERT and Denton County Amateur Radio Club.