The annual Pickens County Veterans Parade was held the afternoon of Sunday, November 3, 2024 in downtown Liberty, beginning in front of the Pickens County Performing Arts Center on Main Street. Before the start of the parade on Sunday afternoon, Potter’s Clay Fellowship in Liberty provided food, and, a day earlier, Golden Creek Baptist Church in Liberty provided a meal for veterans. Children enjoyed the inflatable as well as activities provided by the Pickens County Library System. The Pickens Jeep club provided Jeep escorts for many of the veterans. Also participating in the parade were members of the Liberty High School JROTC and Pickens High School JROTC.

The event began with Walt Carter, of the Pickens County Veterans Affairs Office and Commander of the American Legion Post 52 of Easley, welcoming everyone and introducing Liberty Mayor Erica Romo Woods.

“Thank y’all, and welcome to Liberty,” said Mayor Woods. “Thank you so much for coming out and supporting our veterans.” She mentioned the city’s veterans memorials and said, “We, here in Liberty, are very proud of our veterans.” She thanked Walt Carter and Melanie Griffin and the Veterans Affairs Office for all of their effort that made the event possible. “We appreciate all the dedication and the hard work that they’ve put in, to bring this to us today and to honor our veterans,” she said. She thanked the citizens for coming and also thanked Liberty City Council member Daniel Graybeal and State Senator Rex Rice for being present. “We appreciate everybody here, and thank you to our veterans.”

Carter then introduced United States Army veteran and Post 52 member Marion Summey, who sang the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Carter then introduced Rev. Carlton Cleveland, Pastor of Potter’s Clay Fellowship, who opened the event with prayer: “Heavenly Father, we bow before you today. We thank you for all these in attendance, the families, the support. And, God, we do thank you for all these men and women who served, and served so faithfully. God, what a day and what a time to honor them with true appreciation, and we’re mindful now of all of the men and women in our branches around the world, keeping watch, keeping us safe. Lord, we ask that you watch over them and their families, as well. God, you’ve blessed us beyond measure. We just want to say thank you today, and, God, may we be a blessing back to you and your people in return, for it’s in your name we pray, Amen.”

During the parade, Travis McAlister, Pastor of Golden Creek Baptist Church, called out the name of each veteran as he or she rode by, to the applause and appreciation of the crowd.

Senator Rex Rice told The Pickens County Chronicle, “I think it’s terrific that they put on the parade for the veterans and recognize them. I turned 18 right after we pulled out of Vietnam, and there are so many of our Vietnam vets, that we’re losing every year, that really didn’t get the recognition they should have gotten. So, I think it’s wonderful to do what we do.” He added that he met a World War II United States Navy veteran, Myles Isbell, at the dinner at Golden Creek Baptist Church on Saturday, the day before the parade. “We’re getting few and far between on World War II vets now,” he said. “We definitely need to recognize our veterans, and we need to encourage our young people to be involved in the service or to support anybody in their family that’s serving.

“It was wonderful to see the Jeep Club there,” he added. “And we had the ROTC from both Liberty and Pickens. I was impressed with the number of students that they had in both the Pickens and Liberty ROTC. I appreciate everybody’s participation on that.”

Below, view 87 photos of the 2024 Pickens County Veterans Parade by The Pickens County Chronicle.