CUMMING — Forsyth County residents will have a couple of opportunities to honor veterans this week.

The city of Cumming will hold its annual Veterans Day Celebration at the Veterans War Memorial at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

On Tuesday night, the North Forsyth High will celebrate both Veterans Day and the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps with a JROTC program at the school.

“This is the city’s annual Veterans Day Celebration to celebrate all the veterans and active duty military in the community,” said Crystal Ledford, a public information assistant for Cumming. “It will just be a time for all the veterans to come together and be honored.”

The event will feature musical performances by Forsyth Central High School’s Flash of Crimson Band, Forsyth Christian Home Educators Learning Co-Op and Christian Fine Arts of Forsyth and a patriotic reading from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The Forsyth County Joint Honor Guard Rifle Team, featuring members of the county’s fire department and sheriff’s office, will deliver a 21-gun salute.

Also taking part in the ceremony will be the Cumming chapters of Georgia Vietnam Veterans and American Legion Post 307.

“It’s just a great day for all these different groups to come together and to work on this one program to just honor our veterans,” Ledford said.

The event’s keynote speaker will be retired U.S. Army Col. Ken Jackson, who served for 26 years, earning five Bronze Stars — two for valor and three for service. 

His qualifications included Special Forces, Airborne and Ranger, and he served in South Vietnam, Germany and Europe, among other duties.

On Tuesday night, North Forsyth High School will celebrate both Veterans Day and the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps with a JROTC program.

“Tuesday is the Marine Corps’ birthday,” said Maj. Charles Kelly, senior Marine instructor at the school.  “The Second Continental Congress back in 1775 decided to have a Marine Corps on the Nov. 10, so we celebrate this every year. Since Veterans Day is the next day, we kind of combine the two.”

Also taking part will be three high schools from surrounding counties. They include Cherokee County’s Air Force JROTC, Duluth’s Navy JROTC and North Springs’ Army JROTC.

“We should be the only four county JROTC ceremony taking place for Veterans Day and Marine Corps birthday in Georgia,” Kelly said.

The public is invited to attend the event and Kelly said North will receive Marine Corps Reserve Association Award, which is given to the highest ranked cadets in the Southeast. The Legion of Valor Award will also be presented.

Kelly said that the event would be cancelled only for lightening. If there is wet weather, the program will “march in the rain.”

The ceremony is set for 7:30 p.m. at the school, 3635 Coal Mountain Road.