From left: Dr. Jane Todd, Gene Hutto, Richard Lundie, Ike Reeves, Theresa Hume, Larry Jones, Larry Hume, Derrick Roberts, and Erik Choron
May 7, 2026 - VFW Post 8904 along with a few others held a Loyalty Day ceremony Monday, May 4, 2026, in front of the Shelby County Veterans Memorial on the Historic Downtown Square.
Loyalty Day is on May 1st every year, however, due to inclement weather, the program was rescheduled this year to the following Monday, May 4th.
Derrick Roberts started the program, “Good morning, everyone. Thank you guys for joining us today for our Loyalty Day program.” He then asked Post 8904 Chaplain Richard Lundie to give the invocation. “Father God, we’re here today, on this Loyalty Day morning to affirm our loyalty to the United States of America. As good citizens, we affirm that we hold our citizenship as a sacred trust between one another and with you.”
Roberts then shared the following, “Some of the holidays we celebrate, honor great Americans, while others recognize great moments in our history. But one, ‘Loyalty Day,’ celebrates everything, from the moment we delivered our Declaration of Independence to the British, to the moment we gathered here this morning.
“Loyalty Day is a celebration of America and everything our country stands for. Loyalty Day asks us to pause for a moment and we look back at where we’ve been, and ahead to where we will want our nation to go.
“Originally observed as “Americanization Day” in 1921 and enacted into public law by congress in 1958. Loyalty Day celebrates the legacy of freedom and the shared ideals that bind our great nation together. While initially established to counterbalance the May 1 celebrations of the communist party in the United States, this day has endured as a permanent fixture on America’s calendar.
“Even as the communist threat has greatly diminished over the years but perhaps is being revitalized, Loyalty Day remains a day worth recognizing, and we can’t think of a group we had rather spent Loyalty Day with than you here today.
“Today, we must remind ourselves, others and ourselves, that there is no substitute for loyalty, and we must pledge to maintain a free society in which loyalty is respected and encouraged.
“Loyalty Day is a day set aside for the reaffirmation of Loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedoms.”
In an act of reaffirmation, the group recited the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by the placing of the Loyalty Day wreath upon the Shelby County Veterans Memorial by Comrade Erik Choron.
Roberts finished by saying, “What American freedoms are you thankful for? I am thankful that we can gather as a group like this today without fear of reprising. We can voice our opinions among our fellow citizens. I am even more thankful that every time our VFW visits here, we will always find a group of loyal Americans. Today is not an official holiday but rather an observance that we make that many are unaware of, and would have gone unrecognized in Shelby County today if you had not been here. Again, thank you for being here this morning, I ask you to go out and share this day with someone who is unaware.”
The VFW Post 8094 will gather on the downtown Center square on Friday, May 8, 2026 to commemorate the 81st Anniversary of VE Day. The remembrance will begin at 10am with the laying of a Memorial Wreath in honor of those who served, those killed in action, and those still missing in the European Theater during World War II.
