Honoring our veterans sacrifice
On an overcast and drizzly Saturday morning, March 8 in Carrabelle, it was a serious occasion, for the 30th annual Camp Gordon Johnston Veterans Parade.
The parade, which once was the centerpiece of an annual weekend reunion for veterans who were trained on the Carrabelle base during World War II for amphibious landings in Europe and the Pacific, has since welcomed veterans of all branches, of all eras.
The reunions are no longer held, as members of the Greatest Generation have passed away, leaving just a handful at most, now in their late 90s, in Franklin and Gulf counties.
Navy veteran Bob Dietz, one of the last remaining, served as grand marshall of the parade.
There was probably more candy thrown than there were kids along the street to catch it, but the stalwarts showed up to show their appreciation for the service of all veterans.
Afterwards, visitors flocked to the Camp Gordon Johnston Museum, an impressive collection of all things World War II. A Dice Run helped to raise money for the museum, which this month has a special exhibit on women who served during the war.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.