Medal of Honor events to continue through the weekend

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) — The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center partnered with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and Blood Assurance to host a Community Outreach Event on Thursday. Anyone who donated blood or donated to the food bank received a special Challenge Coin and an opportunity to shake hands with one of the Medal of Honor recipients in attendance.
Britt Kelly Slabinski, US Navy SEAL, Medal of Honor Recipient told us, “This is where those first acts of valor to help hold the union together happened. People going in harms way for their very convictions all started right here. And I might add more importantly for their fellow citizens. To the left to the right, what’s in front of them, what’s behind them. It’s just great to be here at this time and place, here in Chattanooga with fellow recipients honoring the heritage and legacy of the medal of honor.”
Meanwhile, the city hosted a breakfast honoring our Medal of Honor heroes at the convention center. In attendance were Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, City Mayor Tim Kelly, and County Mayor Weston Wamp.
Chattanooga has its own Medal of Honor Recipient. World War 2 Veteran Charles H. Coolidge.
Tim Kelly, Mayor of Chattanooga told us, “In fact one our city’s most prized landmarks Coolidge Park, named after Sergeant Coolidge, was designed in the shape of the medal of Honor. We hope you get a chance to visit it. I should also note that we run the longest continuous Armed Forces Day parade in the United States. And as congressman Fleishman, our congressman often reminds us, we can claim with a very straight face that we are the most patriotic city in America, and we don’t even have a military base here.”
More events will continue through the weekend, including a flag waving on St. Elmo Ave at 5 PM Friday, a gathering of veterans and breakfast at the Convention Center, complete with  a flyover of military jets.