WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Trail of Honor schedule for Monday

Trail of Honor schedule for Monday

A tribute to our nation's military, past and present is now underway. The Trail of Honor is in its seventh year. It serves as a welcome for hundreds of riders who stop in Jackson on their way to Washington, DC to honor United States veterans.

Here's a look what is scheduled for Monday:

9:00am  Chinook lands on side of I-55 in preparation for Black Daggers jump

10:00am NAS Meridian Color Guard arrives at the event site                 
                NOSC Gulfport Arrives at the event site and unloads van

10:15am Set up quarterdeck (mat, bell, etc)       
                Color Guard Ceremony rehearsal  

10:30am Quarterdeck ceremony rehearsal  

11:00am TOH Closes temporarily                  
                Navy Band arrives and unloads vans  

11:15am National Anthem rehearsal  

11:30am Dignitaries/VIPs Arrive                 
                Feed the Navy Band (18 members)               
                Chinoook takes off with Black Daggers on board  

11:45am RFTW Riders Arrive at the event site while music is played  

11:55am Horse-drawn carriage ceremony starts as soon as the last RFTW rider clears the frontage road.  The horse-drawn carriage will be followed by the reenactors.  There will be recorded bagpipe music playing Amazing Grace.

12:05pm Emcee: The Jackson VA Medical Center Chaplain Chris Gueydan will now present our invocation. Invocation during the 3-min warning just prior to the parachute jump (Chaplain Chris Gueydan)

12:15pm Captain Johnny Rawls gives the order to secure traffic on I-55

12:20pm Black Daggers jump (order to jump will be initiated via radio communication, could be slightly earlier or slightly later than 12:10 but has to happen between 1130 and 1230)

12:30pm Chinook lands on the side of I-55

12:35pm Round up the VIPs and get them to the Quarterdeck area.   Quarterdeck VIPs will have a nametag hanging around their neck.  Chairs in the Quarterdeck area will have their name attached and chairs will be positioned in the order that the VIP will cross the Quarterdeck.   
              Navy Band plays while Riders and other guests enter building and are being seated.

12:50pm All riders are seated
               Emcee: Before we begin the ceremony today, we ask that you please silence your cell phones. [pause]  Chaplain Chris Gueydan will now bless our food before we eat. 
              Prayer prior to eating by Chaplain Chris Gueydan
              Emcee: Our Colors Ceremony will be performed by the Meridian Naval Air Station Color Guard.   The National Anthem will be sung by Mr. Ed Graham with Ms. Ramona Pevey signing the words to the National Anthem.    
              Colors Ceremony (NAS Meridian)

12:55pm National Anthem (Ed Graham) with signing (Ramona Pevey)

1:00pm Color Guard posts colors next to quarterdeck and positions themselves as side boys as needed  
             TOH opens again
             Emcee: We ask that everyone remain seated during the Quarterdeck Ceremony.   
             Quarterdeck ceremony (5-7 minutes)  [last year it took 12 minutes]

1:10pm Emcee: Navy Band New Orleans has been a vital part of the quarterdeck ceremony for the past 7 years.  Navy Band New Orleans' Director is Lieutenant Diane Nichols.  However, today the band was conducted by Musician Chief Petty Officer .                                     Commanding Officer of Special Boat Team TWENTY TWO, Commander Robert Lyonnais, served as our Officer of the Deck for the Quarterdeck Ceremony today.  

1:15pm Emcee: I would like to recognize our Secretary of State, Delbert Hoseman.  Secretary Hoseman rode in with you from Tallulah today.   I would also like to introduce Major General William "Bill" Freeman, the Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard.  General Freeman will introduce our Lt Governor, Phil Bryant.

1:25pm Lt. Governor Bryant welcomes the Riders to the event.   

1:30pm Emcee: Trail of Honor / Run for the Wall event recognizes a Gold Star Family each year.  Captain Charles Gibson, the Commanding Officer of the Meridian Naval Air Station is here today to talk about one of our fallen Sailors and the Gold Star Family.  
            Captain Gibson talks about Andrew Triplett and the Triplett family followed by recognition of the family by Lt Governor Phil Bryant and Deborah Bryant.

1:45pm General Freeman introduces the keynote speaker, Medal of Honor recipient Major General James Livingston [bio info....  There are only 97 living MoH recipients - 60 Vietnam War, 14 Korean War and 23 WWII.)
             General Livingston speaks for about 5-10 minutes 1:50:00 PM Emcee: Ladies and Gentleman, I'd like to bring to your attention to some incredible stories of courage and perserverance of Mississippi Veterans on WLBT.COM. Dozens of these stories, both video and text are there for your viewing. It's part of the Library of Congress's Veteran's History Project. One of them who is no longer with us is Jack Lucas.    Ms. Ruby Lucas has a presentation that she would like to make.   Ms. Ruby.....

1:50pm Ruby Lucas makes a presentation to the TOH/RFTW event.

1:55pm Emcee: RFTW Southern Route Coordinator, Greg "Pied Piper" Smith has a presentation to make along  with his Assistant Coordinator, Ray "Too Tall" McDowell, and RFTW Southern Route Mississippi Coordinator, Don "Papa Bear" Stringer.

2:05pm Emcee: The inside event is concluded and if the riders want to meet the dignitaries, they can do that before or after they go through the Trail of Honor.
             Inside ceremony ends and riders go to the trail and/or meet dignitaries

4:15pm Riders Depart the event site