Memorial Day ceremonies

Story and Photos by Katelin Carroll, Graham Kilsby

Monday could not have been a more beautiful day for a parade. Hohenwald's annual Memorial Day Parade brought out the crowds, slightly smaller in number, but never-the-less dedicated friends and families who come together each year to honor the fallen veterans of Lewis County.

A small service took place in front of the courthouse, where veterans posted flags that represented their branches of military and honored the MIA and POWs. Kim Livingston began the service by singing the National Anthem and a speech was given by Barry Carroll. The names of the fallen and those who returned home for burial were read by Theresa Gifford. Taps was played by trumpeter Sam Livingston.

"For more than 245 years, American soldiers have protected the ideas of freedom and democracy. Not machines, not technology or the latest concept; but the people, the people that we honor as veterans. Technicians and Theorists can talk all they want about the gadgetry and the new face of battle, but all the talk in the world doesn't change the fact that war is and will always be about our courageous soldiers facing and defeating the enemy," said keynote speaker State Senator Joey Hensley.

Andrew Rodgers raised awareness for the 22 soldiers who take their own lives in one day on average. He pleadd for those listening to reach out and ask for help the moment they need it.

After the ceremony, the crowd walked to the War Memorial Building where Tommy Carroll officially dedicated a new monument to his long-time friend and fellow veteran, the late Edd Sharp.

Sharp wrote a poem entitled "Echoes from a Soldier's Grave," that eventually became the official State of Tennessee Veterans Poem to remember veterans and the sacrifices they made.

"Because of you [Senator Hensley] we do remember. You believed in this and you believed in the veterans. Ronnie James and Tommy [Carroll] were some of my daddy's best friends and so it makes me so proud that someone still remembers him," said Cissy Riley, daughter of Sharp. "Some of these Vietnam Veterans are going away and we need to remember them and the sacrifices they've made.

"There are so many people right now who are in danger just so we can stand here with each other," Riley continued, "We have to be thankful for our freedom and never take it for granted. Every time you see a veteran and you thank them for their service, it means something to them. They don't ask for it, but when you say it, you can just see them glow and swell up because someone remembered them."