Hometown Heroes 

Join us in honoring our veterans! Humphrey Funeral Service proudly serves as the primary corporate sponsor of the Salute to Freedom Task Force. Together, we plan and promote the Annual Pope County - Russellville Veterans Day Parade, a cherished tradition that celebrates the bravery and sacrifice of our servicemen and women. 

Mark your calendars for: Monday, November 11, 2024 - 4P.M.
as we come together to pay tribute to our heroes. For more information about the parade, check out our informative infographic alongside this message. Are you interested in participating and being part of this heartwarming event? Fill out the parade-app to join the ranks of those who salute our veterans with pride. Together, we make a difference, and together, we honor those who've given so much for our freedom.

Sam Niemann
Grand Marshal

GRAND MARSHALS ANNOUNCED! 
2024 Pope County Russellville Veterans Day Parade 

Centenarian Jock Davis of Russellville, Arkansas, has been named by the Salute to Freedom Task Force of Pope County, as Grand Marshal for the 2024 Pope County-Russellville Veterans Day Parade, planned for Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2024, at 4:00 PM, through downtown Russellville.

Jock served in the U.S. Army during World War II, with tours of duty in New Guinea, Australia, and the Philippines. He served in the Arkansas National Guard, retiring as a major after 37 years of service to his country.

Davis was born in Malvern, the son of Mary Cecil Cox and Roy C. Davis.

Following boot camp at Camp Abbott in Oregon, he was then sent to Camp Stoneman in California for shipment overseas to Oreo Bay, New Guinea. After surviving a bout of dengue fever, Jock was sent to Melbourne, Australia, where he was assigned to an engineering topographic battalion that made and shipped maps to regions for use in battle. After a promotion to Corporal, his served as the company clerk, and was shipped to the Manila Harbor, Philippines, where he completed his tour of duty until his discharge and return to Arkansas.

It was 1946, and Davis enrolled at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville on the GI Bill.
It was there he met his wife, Melba Jean Thompson. They were married 68 years before Melba died in November of 2022. Jock graduated in 1950 from ATU with a degree in business administration and spent 55 years in the poultry industry, specializing in sales and sales management.

Jock has spent countless hours as a volunteer, member, and officer of various civic and service clubs. He was inducted into the Arkansas Tech University Hall of Distinction and a distinguished “Red Coat” member of the Russellville Chamber of Commerce. He served 15 years on the ATU Alumni Board of Directors and two terms as its president. He is a past president of Friendship Community Services, a past president of the Russellville Jaycees, a deacon at Russellville First Baptist Church, was director for 30 years of the adult Sunday School program, and a member and past president of the Fishers of Men ministry at First Baptist Church.

He is a member and past vice president of the Military Officers Association of America and served on the Russellville School Board. He and his late wife were also avid supporters of Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Jock Davis was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission. The Arkansas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution recognized Davis with a National Defense Distinguished Citizen Award.

Davis has written his autobiography, Brothers Four: Reliving the Great Depression and World War II, which is self-published.

Jock Davis

The 2024 Pope County – Russellville Veterans Day Parade, is scheduled for Monday, November 11, at 4:00 PM, Main Street Downtown Russellville. Heralded as the largest Veterans Day Parade in Arkansas, entries will include four area marching bands, business, civic organizations, military vehicles, church groups, motorcycle clubs, antique car clubs, scout groups, participants from local veteran’s organizations and members of the Russellville School District as well as Arkansas Tech University ROTC units. Entrants will begin gathering in the northwest parking lot of First Baptist Church beginning at 2:00 PM.

The parade route will begin at South Jonesboro and West Main Street, advance east on Main through downtown, turning north on Commerce and de-stage in the area of the train depot. Flags will be distributed to spectators along the parade route beginning 30 minutes prior to the parade. The parade will be live-streamed and hosted by River Valley Radio personality, Johnny Story, and the Parade Coordinator with the Salute to Freedom Task Force, Rick Smith.

Complete the form below to participate in this years parade. It is FREE to all entrants. 

DEADLINE for entry is Friday Nov. 8th, 2024.

Staging Area is in the northwest parking lot of First Baptist Church Lining up westward on West 2nd Street to South Jonesboro Avenue. Parade will advance onto West Main Street from South Jonesboro at 4:00 PM. De-Staging is in the area of the Train Depot.

It was not until reading Tom Brokaw’s book, “The Greatest Generation,” a profile of World War II Veterans, that a fire was ignited to lead our community in extending the kind of honor and recognition to Veterans they so richly deserve and our community so needed to express.

Out of those initial efforts, the Pope County Salute to Freedom Task Force was born. Made up of representative members from local community organizations established to support Veterans, including the Veterans of Foreign War, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, the Military Officers of American Association, and others; this task force has met annually for more than 15 years to plan and promote community events to honor Veterans and their families.

With Russellville serving as home to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 206th Field Artillery Battalion, the Task Force staged deployment ceremonies and homecoming celebrations for these troops and their families upon deployment to Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Iraqi Enduring Freedom campaigns during periods from 2005 to 2013.

Each year since 2000, the Salute to Freedom Task Force has planned and promoted the annual Pope County – Russellville Veterans Day Parade and associated activities. The parade has grown to be one of the largest in the state of Arkansas, and many of the events have featured post-parade ceremonies that recognized World War I, World War II, Korean, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Iraqi Enduring Freedom Veterans and their families. These events gained wide-spread support and state-wide news coverage.

In commemoration of these Veterans and military campaigns, the Task Force has issued limited editions of Challenge Coins since 2009, minted in recognition of Veterans and Guard & Reserve soldiers serving during these wartimes. They have been presented in honor fashion to individual soldiers during various ceremony events sponsored by the Task Force.

One of the most unique activities of the Task Force was the Soldier Bear project that began in 2007. Designed for children of deployed guardsmen & reservists, it featured a teddy bear dressed in military khakis, complete with dog tags and a special audio device with a pre-recorded greeting to the child from his or her military parent. When the 206th Field Artillery Battalion and the 39th Infantry Brigade was deployed in 2008, over 400 children received their Soldier Bear in a special ceremony held on May 12, 2008. The project was so successful, it gained national recognition by Four-Star General Craig McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.