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Municipal employee Carl Gunter is on duty in Virginia Acres Park May 14, placing Hometown Heroes banners around the track. Dozens of similar banners are on display this month around downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta, in connection with Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
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Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle places a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Coast Guard veteran Ed Knight, shown here in image from about six years ago, is to be grand marshal of Aiken's Memorial Day parade this year (May 25). (Submitted photo)
- Submitted photo
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Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14.
- Bill Bengtson/staff
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Dwight Bradham Jr., largely known as Aiken County's director of veterans affairs, is among dozens of local men and women represented on Hometown Heroes banners around Aiken and North Augusta this month. An image in memory of his father is on the other side of this banner, placed in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
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The late Dwight Bradham, largely known as the father of Aiken County's director of veterans affairs, is among dozens of local men and women represented on Hometown Heroes banners around Aiken and North Augusta this month. An image of Dwight Bradham Jr. is on the other side of this banner, placed in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
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Municipal employee Carl Gunter places a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Dozens of veterans are represented on Hometown Heroes banners in Aiken and North Augusta this month, in connection with Memorial Day. This May 14 scene shows Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employee Carl Gunter places a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14, in preparation for Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Aiken municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14. Dozens of similar banners are up around downtown and Virginia Acres Park this month, in connection with Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
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Municipal employee Tim Coyle placse a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle are on duty May 14, placing Hometown Heroes banners in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14, in observance of Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
This Hometown Heroes banner is among dozens on display in downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta this month, in observance of Memorial Day. The track around Virginia Acres Park is similarly decorated.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
This Hometown Heroes banner is among dozens on display in downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta this month, in observance of Memorial Day. Army veteran Linda Caldwell, depicted here, has been a driving force behind the banner program's local establishment.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Aiken Standard reporter Bill Bengtson is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. He has focused most recently on eastern Aiken County, agriculture, churches, veterans and older people. He previously covered schools/youth, North Augusta and Fort Gordon. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Whitman College, and also studied at Oregon State University and the University of Guadalajara. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription.See our current offers »
Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employee Carl Gunter is on duty in Virginia Acres Park May 14, placing Hometown Heroes banners around the track. Dozens of similar banners are on display this month around downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta, in connection with Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle places a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Coast Guard veteran Ed Knight, shown here in image from about six years ago, is to be grand marshal of Aiken's Memorial Day parade this year (May 25). (Submitted photo)
- Submitted photo
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14.
- Bill Bengtson/staff
Buy Now
Dwight Bradham Jr., largely known as Aiken County's director of veterans affairs, is among dozens of local men and women represented on Hometown Heroes banners around Aiken and North Augusta this month. An image in memory of his father is on the other side of this banner, placed in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
The late Dwight Bradham, largely known as the father of Aiken County's director of veterans affairs, is among dozens of local men and women represented on Hometown Heroes banners around Aiken and North Augusta this month. An image of Dwight Bradham Jr. is on the other side of this banner, placed in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employee Carl Gunter places a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Dozens of veterans are represented on Hometown Heroes banners in Aiken and North Augusta this month, in connection with Memorial Day. This May 14 scene shows Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employee Carl Gunter places a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14, in preparation for Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Aiken municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14. Dozens of similar banners are up around downtown and Virginia Acres Park this month, in connection with Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employee Tim Coyle placse a Hometown Heroes banner in Virginia Acres Park May 14.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle are on duty May 14, placing Hometown Heroes banners in Newberry Street's festival area.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
Municipal employees Carl Gunter, above, and Tim Coyle place a Hometown Heroes banner in Newberry Street's festival area May 14, in observance of Memorial Day.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
This Hometown Heroes banner is among dozens on display in downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta this month, in observance of Memorial Day. The track around Virginia Acres Park is similarly decorated.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Buy Now
This Hometown Heroes banner is among dozens on display in downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta this month, in observance of Memorial Day. Army veteran Linda Caldwell, depicted here, has been a driving force behind the banner program's local establishment.
- Staff photo by Bill Bengtson
Signs of Memorial Day are popping up around Aiken and North Augusta, with plans in place for a parade in Aiken on May 25, and dozens of local veterans from the present and past are now represented via banners posted around the two cities via the Hometown Heroes program.
The parade, in keeping with tradition, is to be on the Saturday before the actual holiday. This year's procession to begin at 10 a.m. and run through downtown from Park Avenue and Union Street to Laurens Street and north to a reviewing stand on Richland Avenue, ending at Barnwell Avenue.
The parade route will also include some bigger-than-life representations of dozens of local residents from several generations in honor of their military service. Hometown Heroes banners, a project of Aiken County Veterans Council, were put into place this week — dozens in downtown Aiken and downtown North Augusta, and dozens more around the track at Virginia Acres Park.
The parade's grand marshal is to be Savannah River Site retiree Ed Knight, whose background includes eight years in the Navy and 15.5 years in the Coast Guard. He was chosen for the same honor for the 2023 event, but the parade was canceled due to a strong chance of rain.
Knight, a Michigan native, went on eight patrols ("63 days at 200 feet") as a submariner in his Navy years (1964-72), serving as an electronics technician, and his Coast Guard time (1975-90) was focused on small-boat search and rescue in Ohio and Michigan. He was married for 57 years to Navy veteranSally Ellen Knight, the former Sally Ellen Davis, a Texas native whom he met in Michigan as she was preparing for her military service, along with focusing on electronics.
South Carolina's only parade held on Memorial Day itself (May 27) is in Myrtle Beach, and is composed entirely of golf carts "decorated in their patriotic best," rolling along Ocean Boulevard.
The Hometown Heroes program is in place in a variety of communities and is promoted in Aiken County as "a personal and visible way to honor military veterans two weeks prior to Veterans Day and again before Memorial Day through July 4."
Want to go?
Want to go?
WHAT: Aiken Memorial Day Parade
WHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25
WHERE: Downtown Aiken along Park Avenue and Laurens Street
Bill Bengtson
Aiken Standard reporter
Bill Bengtson is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. He has focused most recently on eastern Aiken County, agriculture, churches, veterans and older people. He previously covered schools/youth, North Augusta and Fort Gordon. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Whitman College, and also studied at Oregon State University and the University of Guadalajara.
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