Students at Southern Preparatory Academy take part in virtual Veterans Day parade

The young men at Southern Preparatory Academy, the premier military high school in Alabama, have recorded a virtual entry for this year’s National Veterans Day Parade.

Southern Prep, which was named Lyman Ward Military Academy until 2019, usually participates in person at the parade which is typically held in Birmingham on Veterans Day.

This year, due to coronavirus precautions, the parade is being held via live stream at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11. The submission from Southern Prep has been published online in advance of the official parade.

“We are the corps. of cadets from Southern Prep Academy, as the official military school of Alabama, we want to thank all of our veterans for setting the example for us to follow,” says Cadet Heath Norrell, a senior at Southern Prep and battalion commander of the cadet corps, in the video.

The position of battalion commander is most similar to the position of student body president in an average high school.

Southern Prep enrolls about 100 boys in grades 6-12. It is located in Camp Hill, a small town around 30 minutes northwest of Auburn.

“Here in Camp Hill we know we are standing on the shoulders of giants today because of your service to our great nation,” remarks Norrell in the video.

The National Veterans Day Parade is run by the National Veterans Day Foundation in Birmingham. The landing page for the live stream of the parade can be found here.

“From all of us here at Southern Prep, we want to say ‘thank you and God Bless America,’” concludes Norrell in the clip.

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Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95