Post by Clipper on May 25, 2020 6:39:16 GMT -5
www.wjhl.com/news/local/honoring-those-who-gave-all-congressional-candidate-donates-18000-american-flags-to-mountain-home-national-cemetery/
I was contemplating going over and volunteering but woke up to rain so I decided not to. I called a friend who is a VFW member and a Viet vet. He had gone over to help. It said it was very moving to see how many people came to help.
I knew that the cemetery was quite massive, but I didn't realize that it covered over 100 acres between the main cemetery and the annex that they opened last year because the original cemetery was nearing capacity. There is a mix of upright white headstones and flat stones laid in the ground. I had read that there were 10,000 graves there. It seems that I was misinformed. There are actually 18,000 veterans buried there and more being buried every day. Very few days go by without one or more funerals. The day that we buried my friend John, there was another procession lined up inside the gate waiting to proceed to the pavilion where the casket is placed while the service is conducted and another was scheduled for later that same morning.
People came from all over Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to volunteer. It is quite moving to know that veterans in this part of the country and their service to the country are not forgotten in death.
We went out for a ride out to the lake yesterday afternoon and drove by the cemetery in late afternoon. It was an amazing sight to see. Red, white and blue waving in the breeze for as far as one could see. Thank you to Mr. Adkins and to all the volunteers that got the task done. The flag placement was expected to take all day Saturday and into yesterday to complete. It was completed in a matter of hours on Saturday thanks to the amazing turnout of volunteers.
I hope that all the national cemeteries across the country saw a similar turnout under the circumstances with the pandemic preventing the usual placement by local Boy Scout troops and other organizations.
While we celebrate with barbecues and picnics, I hope we all will take the time to pause and remember the real reason for the holiday. I thank all those that have lost their lives in defense of our great nation. Generations of veterans stretching back into history, and right up until the present day where we are still seeing young military members dying daily on the battle fields across the world. My prayer is for the time to come when a generation can live in peace with no one having to die in the defense of our great nation.
I was contemplating going over and volunteering but woke up to rain so I decided not to. I called a friend who is a VFW member and a Viet vet. He had gone over to help. It said it was very moving to see how many people came to help.
I knew that the cemetery was quite massive, but I didn't realize that it covered over 100 acres between the main cemetery and the annex that they opened last year because the original cemetery was nearing capacity. There is a mix of upright white headstones and flat stones laid in the ground. I had read that there were 10,000 graves there. It seems that I was misinformed. There are actually 18,000 veterans buried there and more being buried every day. Very few days go by without one or more funerals. The day that we buried my friend John, there was another procession lined up inside the gate waiting to proceed to the pavilion where the casket is placed while the service is conducted and another was scheduled for later that same morning.
People came from all over Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia to volunteer. It is quite moving to know that veterans in this part of the country and their service to the country are not forgotten in death.
We went out for a ride out to the lake yesterday afternoon and drove by the cemetery in late afternoon. It was an amazing sight to see. Red, white and blue waving in the breeze for as far as one could see. Thank you to Mr. Adkins and to all the volunteers that got the task done. The flag placement was expected to take all day Saturday and into yesterday to complete. It was completed in a matter of hours on Saturday thanks to the amazing turnout of volunteers.
I hope that all the national cemeteries across the country saw a similar turnout under the circumstances with the pandemic preventing the usual placement by local Boy Scout troops and other organizations.
While we celebrate with barbecues and picnics, I hope we all will take the time to pause and remember the real reason for the holiday. I thank all those that have lost their lives in defense of our great nation. Generations of veterans stretching back into history, and right up until the present day where we are still seeing young military members dying daily on the battle fields across the world. My prayer is for the time to come when a generation can live in peace with no one having to die in the defense of our great nation.