If you were driving in Clarkesville, Cornelia or Demorest Monday afternoon, you may have noticed a stream of trucks, cars and jeeps flying the stars and stripes as they made their way through traffic.
“It was just a spur-of-the-moment Memorial Day cruise through Habersham,” says organizer Jason Parker. “I have a lot of friends that were in the army and everything so we just decided to do it.”
Parker shared his idea for the ride on Facebook and with Now Habersham. Lots of folks apparently got the message because more than two dozen showed up for the impromptu Memorial Day Parade.
“We just figured it would be like five or 10 people,” Parker says. “It was lot more than we thought.”
The group met up at the old Wal Mart location and traveled a circuitous route that took them through Clarkesville, Demorest, and Cornelia where they stopped and paid tribute at the Habersham County Wall of Honor at Veterans Park on Historic Hwy 441.
Navy Veteran Brandon Thompson was one of the many who joined Parker’s parade, “Memorial Day is a big meaningful day for us,” he explains. “This is for all of those who didn’t get to come home and celebrate.”
Parker says folks need a large display of patriotism today, “With all that’s going on right now, that flag stomping thing (at Valdosta State) and all that, this is needed to show that we’re still out here. We still support the flag and everything it stands for.”
Parker is hopeful that today’s spur-of-the-moment cruise will happen again next Memorial Day, “Hopefully, next year, we can get a lot more people to join us.”
