Clockwise from bottom left: Piper john Morteson opens Alpharetta’s 56th annual Soldiers Day Parade; Jerry Gallman plays the clown, riding alongside floats commemorating those who fought and died in war; Alpharetta Councilwoman Cheryl Oakes and her family rode with the rest of the council in a special horse-drawn float; Major General Scott Hammond of the GA Air National Guard was the guest speaker before the parade; all manner of soldiers were celebrated. Here the Marines reenacted the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.