News & Events

Introduction
Thank you for that very warm welcome. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor and my distinct pleasure to be here with you today to celebrate Armed Forces Day. It’s always good for my wife Linda and me to come back home to Chattanooga, but especially so to honor America’s all-volunteer force here in the Volunteer State.

Our men and women in uniform are blessed to have the people of Chattanooga on their team. As I stood on the reviewing stand today, I could see on the faces of those who marched past the local community’s overwhelming support for our Armed Forces.

This community understands the meaning of service and sacrifice and fully appreciates what our active duty and reserve forces have done—and are doing—to protect our great nation.

Being at today’s parade stirred some very warm memories. From 1960–1962, I marched in Chattanooga’s Armed Forces Day Parade with Chattanooga High School’s Army ROTC unit.

In fact, in that last year, I did my best to convince Chattanooga City’s principal, Col. Creed Bates, that it made far more sense for me to join him on the reviewing stand instead of marching with my unit with my M-1 carbine on my shoulder.

Unfortunately, the colonel was hearing none of it.

He didn’t just say no, he said, “Hell no .”