5/20/2022 – UPDATE: Event will take place Monday, May 23 at 10:00am. Updated information can be found here.
1/20/22 -UPDATE: Event has been postponed until March. A new date will be announced soon.
The City of Franklin is naming its first local street after a Franklin Veteran on Friday, January 21, at 10:00 a.m. at Carlisle Lane and Old Charlotte Pike. The street will be named after Roy F. Alley a World War Two veteran and recipient of the purple heart. Alley was born and raised in Franklin. He attended David Lipscomb College and graduated from Vanderbilt University. Alley served in the Armed Forces where he was a bombardier, a crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. He was assigned to a group on Palawan Island in the Philippines and flew pre-invasion missions over Japanese occupied islands in the South Pacific. Alley, a Second Lieutenant, died in 1945 when his plane was shot down. The VFW Post 4893 in Franklin is named after him.
The Veterans Street Naming project was launched in 2018 to name a neighborhood street after a fallen veteran who has died in combat. The program offers a street with a street sign in a new residential subdivision dedicated in a veteran’s name. The program was introduced to the City by local citizen Steve Arends who came from the city of Chula Vista, California, that has a similar program. Arends contacted his alderman, Beverly Burger who brought it to the attention of City officials.
Families that are interested can submit the information by going to the City of Franklin website at www.franklintn.gov.myhero. Applicants can fill out the form or submit their name and a short bio with a photo to [email protected]. All names submitted will be reviewed for compliance against the addressing guidelines in the addressing manual.
Wonderful program, in some cities I have seen where a raised gold star ⭐ is embossed or stamped on the street sign next to the veterans name