Medal of Honor motorcade will roll through North Texas
Today is your chance to salute more than a dozen Medal of Honor recipients as they travel from DFW Airport to Gainesville.
The Medal of Honor is the American military’s highest honor and is awarded for personal acts of valor that go above and beyond the call of duty. Each year the city of Gainesville honors them.
This year the national heroes will arrive at DFW Airport on Wednesday. Then around 4:30 p.m. a large motorcade of public safety vehicles will honor and escort them to their destination in Gainesville.
Members of the public are invited to participate by waving signs or banners. Commuters are asked to be patient as the procession passes.
“Normally what we try to tell the average citizen or the average motorist that’s being delayed… we just ask them to do what you would normally do when approached by an emergency vehicle. Pull to the right and allow us to get through,” said Denton County Chief Deputy Barry Minoff.
The motorcade is expected to include over 550 vehicles and be 8 to 9 miles long.
The roads affected include parts of highways 183, 360, 114 and 121, as well as Interstate 35W and 35E. The northbound lanes of the I-35E split in Denton will be temporarily shut down.
Medal of Honor host city board member Mark Brewer said Gainsville has been hosting the ceremony for 16 years.
“It started kind of as a mission of the city to honor these men for their sacrifice… almost the ultimate sacrifice for our military,” he said.
He encouraged the commuters who are stuck in traffic to get out and wave if it’s safe.
“I will tell you, the recipients, they are watching out the windows as we go down the road. It really is just amazing,” he said. “Like I said, it’s been going on for 16 years and we look forward to doing it for many, many more.”