Noah Galloway named grand marshal for Birmingham’s Veterans Day Parade

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November 4, 2015

Noah Galloway talking about overcoming struggles, taken via YouTube

BIRMINGHAM — It has been announced that Noah Galloway will be this year’s grand marshal during Birmingham’s Veterans Day Parade. Galloway is an Alabama Army Veteran and national hero who served in the Iraq War where he suffered injuries during an artillery explosion that left his limbs damaged and amputated.

Army Spc. Galloway, now a personal trainer and motivational speaker, refuses to dwell on his losses. Not only does he motivate others to persevere through hard times, he pushes himself to reach new heights.

Galloway reached national fame as a finalist on ABC’s hit series “Dancing with the Stars,” also appearing on the cover of Men’s Health Magazine and numerous national talk show appearances.

In August he was honored by the Alabama Broadcasters Association (ABA) as their 2015 Citizen of the Year during their annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel. It’s bestowed upon an Alabamian who’s exhibited extraordinary public service and made outstanding contributions toward the progress of the state.

In 1919, President Wilson named November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Up until World War II, Armistice Day was used to honor veterans of World War I. That was changed when a WWII veteran from Birmingham, Raymond Weeks, came up with the idea to expand Armistice Day to all veterans. Later, U.S. Representative Edward Rees of Kansas proposed a bill that would change Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Then in 1954, now President Eisenhower signed this legislation that established November 11th as Veterans Day.

Weeks led the first National Veterans Day Parade in 1947 in Alabama, and continued until his passing in 1985. In 1982, just 3 years before his death, President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House where he received the Presidential Citizenship Medal.

The parade, which will be on Wednesday Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m., has adjusted its route this year due to construction in downtown Birmingham.