Project Overview and History
PROJECT HISTORY
The idea for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial was conceived in 1999 when J. William Felton III of Knoxville visited the Normandy beaches in northern France with his wife, Betty.
Felton, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, was deeply, moved by the thousands of white crosses in the Normandy cemeteries, marking the graves of those who never got a chance to return home and pursue careers, raise families, further their education, own their own homes, or otherwise participate in opportunities and advances of post-World War II America. So he vowed to return home and work for a suitable way to honor and remember those who died.
During the ensuing months and years that Col. Felton doggedly pursued his dream, the scope of the project was expanded to include all names on the physical Memorial of those who died in military service from the beginning of World War I. And the monuments would be accompanied by a museum / learning center as a living link to current and future generations. That facility, now on the drawing boards, has been officially named the Veterans History Center (VHC) of East Tennessee.
Consideration of the geographical spread for the project ranged from Knox County alone to the entire state. Finally, the 35-county, regional East Tennessee area was chosen. The counties are those of the eastern grand division of the state plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties. Thus the project’s reach is from the Virginia border to the north to the Georgia border to the south, and from the North Carolina line on the east to the Cumberland Plateau to the west.
Early supporters of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial were Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and U. S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan. At Mayor Ragsdale’s request, Knox County Commission approved $1.25 million for the project. Rep. Duncan was instrumental in gaining approval by Congress of a $475,000 HUD grant.
On assuming his office, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam promised to find a site for the Memorial. In early 2006, Haslam recommended – and City Council approved – the 8000- square foot plot at the northern edge of Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park The Veterans History Center will be developed adjacent to the site, at the historic L & N Railroad Station.
The list of names for the Memorial was compiled and researched for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association by the UT Center for the Study of War and Society. At the outset, the list totaled less than 5000 names. On completion of this meticulous process to check for completion and accuracy, the total is now over 6000.
The Memorial itself was designed by architect Lee Ingram of the Knoxville firm Brewer Ingram Fuller. Access Museum Services of Nashville has been retained by ETVMA as consultants for development of the Veterans History Center.
EDUCATION IS KEY
The goals of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial project are to remember and honor, educate and inspire.
Of those four noble objectives, education is the key. For in educating our citizenry of the sacrifices and service this region has contributed to our freedoms and way of life, we also honor and remember. And this knowledge inspires us to honor and serve our nation in the future.
The monuments and other structures that will comprise the physical component of the Memorial will be built on an 8000-square-foot plot in the north end of Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park. An accompanying Veterans History Center will also be developed at that site.
The Veterans History Center will research and chronicle the lives and accomplishments of East Tennessee veterans and interpret the meaning of their service to the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy. Every East Tennessee veteran – past, present and future --will be entitled to an electronic file in the Veterans History Center.
We envision the Veterans History Center achieving in its field the same level of recognition and excellence as the Howard Baker Center is achieving in the field of politics and government. We also know the Veterans History Center will become a regular destination for field trips for school children from throughout the region.
As for the physical Memorial in World’s Fair Park, we will inscribe upon its series of granite monuments the names of more than 6000 veterans from 35 East Tennessee Counties who have died in military service beginning with World War I. We will also honor the 14 Medal of Honor winners from those counties – names like Sandy Bonnyman, Buck Karnes, Mitchell Stout, and Alvin York.
When visitors, including school children, visit the Veterans History Center, they will be given –as a souvenir and keepsake – a dog tag bearing the name of one of the 6000 fallen veterans. They will then be able to proceed to an electronic station to view the information on that veteran’s life and service. The goal will be to compile a relevant life history (including photographs) of as many of these veterans as possible.
The Veterans History Center will have many aspects of a museum, including space for rotating historical and educational exhibits. A film to be produced on the service of East Tennesseans to their country will be shown in the Center’s theater.
The Center will also contain an extensive Wall of Honor to name those individuals, groups and foundations who contribute to development of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial project.
The 35 counties the project represents are those that comprise the state’s eastern grand division plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties on the Cumberland Plateau.
THE MEMORIAL
The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial that will be built in Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park will bear the names of more than 6000 veterans from 35 East Tennessee counties who have died in military service since the beginning of World War I. Those counties are all 33 that comprise the eastern grand division of the state plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties on the Cumberland Plateau.
The Memorial will have 32 granite pylons, each of them nine feet high, three feet wide and one foot deep. Names of the fallen will be inscribed on the pylons up to a height of 54 inches from the ground, making the names accessible for touching by all visitors including those in wheel chairs.
Each pylon will contain abut 220 names. Letters will be approximately a half inch high. Names will be sorted by conflict and further sorted by county within each conflict. Names will be randomly listed (non-alphabetical, non-chronological) within each county. Blank space will be provided for future names.
Names of each of the 14 Medal of Honor winners from these counties will be inscribed on the opposite side of one of the pylons. The Medal of Honor winners are: James E. Karnes, Milo Lemert, James R. Talley, Calvin Ward, Alvin York, Raymond Cooley, Charles Coolidge, Paul Huff, Elbert Kinser, Troy McGill, Alexander Bonnyman, Charles McGaha, Ray Duke, Mitchell Stout.
A three-foot long granite bench will be placed opposite each pylon for seated observation and contemplation. Walkways within the Memorial will also be granite.
A circular plaza that will form the entrance will feature an American flag on a 50-foot pole. Since the Memorial will be lighted at night, the flag will fly 24 hours a day.
Another feature will be a 27-foot high bell tower. On each of the four sides of the tower will be inscribed one of the Four Essential Freedoms as enunciated by President Franklin Roosevelt in a speech to Congress on Jan. 6, 1941 – freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Names to be inscribed on the Memorial were collected and meticulously researched for accuracy and completion by the University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society, for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association.
THE VETERANS HISTORY CENTER
The Veterans History Center of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial will chronicle the lives and accomplishments of veterans from the 35 East Tennessee counties, and interpret the meaning of their service and sacrifices to the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by Americans today.
The facility also will serve as the Visitors Center for the monuments component of the Memorial project.
The Veterans History Center will:
Create detailed files on the more than 6000 fallen veterans from the 35 counties whose names are inscribed on the Memorial, and the 14 Medal of Honor winners.
Compile records of other accomplishments, such as winners of all major categories of combat related awards.
Serve as the depository of the life stories, military records and oral histories of all veterans, living and deceased, and those who served in peacetime as well as during wars or conflicts. Any veteran or family member will be able to create and contribute to a biographical file on that service person in the Center’s electronic archives.
Provide a forum for the discussion of veterans and other issues related to military service.
House permanent exhibits and host traveling exhibits on military and patriotic subjects.
The idea for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial was conceived in 1999 when J. William Felton III of Knoxville visited the Normandy beaches in northern France with his wife, Betty.
Felton, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, was deeply, moved by the thousands of white crosses in the Normandy cemeteries, marking the graves of those who never got a chance to return home and pursue careers, raise families, further their education, own their own homes, or otherwise participate in opportunities and advances of post-World War II America. So he vowed to return home and work for a suitable way to honor and remember those who died.
During the ensuing months and years that Col. Felton doggedly pursued his dream, the scope of the project was expanded to include all names on the physical Memorial of those who died in military service from the beginning of World War I. And the monuments would be accompanied by a museum / learning center as a living link to current and future generations. That facility, now on the drawing boards, has been officially named the Veterans History Center (VHC) of East Tennessee.
Consideration of the geographical spread for the project ranged from Knox County alone to the entire state. Finally, the 35-county, regional East Tennessee area was chosen. The counties are those of the eastern grand division of the state plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties. Thus the project’s reach is from the Virginia border to the north to the Georgia border to the south, and from the North Carolina line on the east to the Cumberland Plateau to the west.
Early supporters of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial were Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and U. S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan. At Mayor Ragsdale’s request, Knox County Commission approved $1.25 million for the project. Rep. Duncan was instrumental in gaining approval by Congress of a $475,000 HUD grant.
On assuming his office, Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam promised to find a site for the Memorial. In early 2006, Haslam recommended – and City Council approved – the 8000- square foot plot at the northern edge of Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park The Veterans History Center will be developed adjacent to the site, at the historic L & N Railroad Station.
The list of names for the Memorial was compiled and researched for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association by the UT Center for the Study of War and Society. At the outset, the list totaled less than 5000 names. On completion of this meticulous process to check for completion and accuracy, the total is now over 6000.
The Memorial itself was designed by architect Lee Ingram of the Knoxville firm Brewer Ingram Fuller. Access Museum Services of Nashville has been retained by ETVMA as consultants for development of the Veterans History Center.
EDUCATION IS KEY
The goals of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial project are to remember and honor, educate and inspire.
Of those four noble objectives, education is the key. For in educating our citizenry of the sacrifices and service this region has contributed to our freedoms and way of life, we also honor and remember. And this knowledge inspires us to honor and serve our nation in the future.
The monuments and other structures that will comprise the physical component of the Memorial will be built on an 8000-square-foot plot in the north end of Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park. An accompanying Veterans History Center will also be developed at that site.
The Veterans History Center will research and chronicle the lives and accomplishments of East Tennessee veterans and interpret the meaning of their service to the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy. Every East Tennessee veteran – past, present and future --will be entitled to an electronic file in the Veterans History Center.
We envision the Veterans History Center achieving in its field the same level of recognition and excellence as the Howard Baker Center is achieving in the field of politics and government. We also know the Veterans History Center will become a regular destination for field trips for school children from throughout the region.
As for the physical Memorial in World’s Fair Park, we will inscribe upon its series of granite monuments the names of more than 6000 veterans from 35 East Tennessee Counties who have died in military service beginning with World War I. We will also honor the 14 Medal of Honor winners from those counties – names like Sandy Bonnyman, Buck Karnes, Mitchell Stout, and Alvin York.
When visitors, including school children, visit the Veterans History Center, they will be given –as a souvenir and keepsake – a dog tag bearing the name of one of the 6000 fallen veterans. They will then be able to proceed to an electronic station to view the information on that veteran’s life and service. The goal will be to compile a relevant life history (including photographs) of as many of these veterans as possible.
The Veterans History Center will have many aspects of a museum, including space for rotating historical and educational exhibits. A film to be produced on the service of East Tennesseans to their country will be shown in the Center’s theater.
The Center will also contain an extensive Wall of Honor to name those individuals, groups and foundations who contribute to development of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial project.
The 35 counties the project represents are those that comprise the state’s eastern grand division plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties on the Cumberland Plateau.
THE MEMORIAL
The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial that will be built in Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park will bear the names of more than 6000 veterans from 35 East Tennessee counties who have died in military service since the beginning of World War I. Those counties are all 33 that comprise the eastern grand division of the state plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties on the Cumberland Plateau.
The Memorial will have 32 granite pylons, each of them nine feet high, three feet wide and one foot deep. Names of the fallen will be inscribed on the pylons up to a height of 54 inches from the ground, making the names accessible for touching by all visitors including those in wheel chairs.
Each pylon will contain abut 220 names. Letters will be approximately a half inch high. Names will be sorted by conflict and further sorted by county within each conflict. Names will be randomly listed (non-alphabetical, non-chronological) within each county. Blank space will be provided for future names.
Names of each of the 14 Medal of Honor winners from these counties will be inscribed on the opposite side of one of the pylons. The Medal of Honor winners are: James E. Karnes, Milo Lemert, James R. Talley, Calvin Ward, Alvin York, Raymond Cooley, Charles Coolidge, Paul Huff, Elbert Kinser, Troy McGill, Alexander Bonnyman, Charles McGaha, Ray Duke, Mitchell Stout.
A three-foot long granite bench will be placed opposite each pylon for seated observation and contemplation. Walkways within the Memorial will also be granite.
A circular plaza that will form the entrance will feature an American flag on a 50-foot pole. Since the Memorial will be lighted at night, the flag will fly 24 hours a day.
Another feature will be a 27-foot high bell tower. On each of the four sides of the tower will be inscribed one of the Four Essential Freedoms as enunciated by President Franklin Roosevelt in a speech to Congress on Jan. 6, 1941 – freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Names to be inscribed on the Memorial were collected and meticulously researched for accuracy and completion by the University of Tennessee Center for the Study of War and Society, for the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association.
THE VETERANS HISTORY CENTER
The Veterans History Center of the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial will chronicle the lives and accomplishments of veterans from the 35 East Tennessee counties, and interpret the meaning of their service and sacrifices to the freedoms and opportunities enjoyed by Americans today.
The facility also will serve as the Visitors Center for the monuments component of the Memorial project.
The Veterans History Center will:
Create detailed files on the more than 6000 fallen veterans from the 35 counties whose names are inscribed on the Memorial, and the 14 Medal of Honor winners.
Compile records of other accomplishments, such as winners of all major categories of combat related awards.
Serve as the depository of the life stories, military records and oral histories of all veterans, living and deceased, and those who served in peacetime as well as during wars or conflicts. Any veteran or family member will be able to create and contribute to a biographical file on that service person in the Center’s electronic archives.
Provide a forum for the discussion of veterans and other issues related to military service.
House permanent exhibits and host traveling exhibits on military and patriotic subjects.