Memorial Day Celebration
Monday, May 25, 2026, 9:00–10:15 am
Alpharetta City Hall, 2 Park Plz.
The City of Alpharetta and the Rotary Club of Alpharetta will host Alpharetta’s Memorial Day Tribute on May 26 from 9:00–10:15 am at Alpharetta City Hall, located at 2 Park Plaza. The event is free for the public to attend.
The program begins at 9:00 am and will include an invocation, the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a keynote address by Tommy Clack, followed by “Taps.”
“Memorial Day is one of America’s most patriotic observances. A day to pause and remember those fallen heroes that have defended our freedom and our Republic,” said Alpharetta Rotary Memorial Day Chair, William Perkins.
About the Keynote Speaker:
Tommy Clack is a 1965 honor graduate of Decatur High School, where he was named Most Outstanding in Track and Field. He attended the University of Houston on a track scholarship before leaving after a year to join the Army.
He spent a little over three years in the Army, attaining the rank of Captain. During his tour in Vietnam, where he served as an Artillery Forward Observer, he was wounded near the Cambodian border, where he lost three limbs and suffered internal injuries and loss of hearing. He was medically retired and spent 22 months in the Atlanta VA Medical Center, enduring 33 surgeries plus more than a dozen other operations as an out-patient.
Tommy finished college in 1975 as an honors graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in Urban Administration and City Management. He retired after 47 years of military and government employment working with congress and 19 years as a Georgia Veterans Service Officer.
Tommy has traveled throughout America and the world with his positive message about honoring America’s military men and women. In fact, he has been involved in helping over 300 memorials become a reality in cities, counties, and states across America. Tommy represented Georgia at the National Vietnam War Memorial and worked with the late Senator Bob Dole, who coordinated the establishment of the National World War II Memorial.
Our keynote speaker has been honored more than 200 times since 1970 at the local, state, and National level for his leadership and accomplishments. Among his greatest honors were laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in May of 2023 and serving as Grand Marshal at the 1970 Atlanta July 4th parade, where he represented the Vietnam War Generation. In 2013, he was inducted as a member of the first class of the Georgia Military Hall of Fame. He tells everyone that his greatest recognition has been God granting him the opportunity to be a father to his son and daughter and a grandfather to five.
Having been pronounced dead in Vietnam, God has directed his path in life to serve as an example of what faith, discipline, determination, and a positive attitude can achieve.
He attends Connect Church here in Cumming with his daughter’s family.