To Remember, Honor, Educate, and Inspire…

The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial is a public plaza with a formal arrangement of granite pillars bearing the names of 6316 fallen heroes from 35 East Tennessee counties who died in military service during named conflicts since World War I. It was dedicated and officially unveiled November 15, 2008.

The names of the 14 Medal of Honor recipients from East Tennessee are inscribed and honored on the reverse side of the pillars. Quotations related to the wars and national service offer an occasion for reflection and meditation. A bell tower tolls for those lost, and for the four essential freedoms we honor and defend.

Major support for the Memorial has come from Knox County, the City of Knoxville, the State of Tennessee, the Federal Government, and hundreds of individuals, businesses, and groups.


WORLD WAR I AND THE MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE, SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1918

The Battle of Argonne Forest was part of what became known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the final battle of World War I. It was a massive attack along the whole line, with the immediate goal of reaching the railroad junction at Sedan. The US had over 1 million troops now available to fight. While the US troops were not battle tested, the introduction of over 1 million well-armed troops into a battle that had exhausted armies for four years would prove decisive.

Commanding US troops was General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing. Responsible for the logistics was Colonel George Marshall, who went on to become Army Chief of Staff in World War II. The American offensive began on September 26, 1918, north of Verdun. Like all World War I offensives, it began with a massive artillery attack. The American forces had mixed results in the first stage of the battle that lasted until October 3rd. German resistance was strong, but the sheer numbers of the Americans slowly forced the Germans back. Meanwhile the French and British troops to the North were having similar success with slow but steady advances. By the end of the second stage of the battle which lasted from October 6th to 26th the American forces had advanced over 10 miles and cleared the Argonne Forest.

In the final stage of the battle, which lasted until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, American forces advanced on Metz, while French forces conquered the goal of the campaign, Sedan. The Americans suffered 192,000 casualties in the battle including 26,277 killed. The French suffered 70,000 casualties, while the Germans had 126,000 casualties, among them 56,000 prisoners.

Tennessee’s National Guard contingents formed a substantial basis of the 30th (“Old Hickory”) Division which proved decisive along the vaunted Hindenburg Line and then later in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. East Tennesseans who died of disease or in combat during the conflict numbered a total of 1116 with Hamilton (149) and Knox (141) recording the most.  Every one of the thirty-three counties lost someone.

Below are 11 who paid the price of their future lives fighting fiercely in defense of freedom for the Allies.  They came from 11 counties of East Tennessee.

 



Find A Veteran

The ETVMA has compiled an extensive and constantly growing database of all veterans remembered on the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial. To find information about any veteran on the Memorial, enter a name below.

ETVMA Book now available

Now available: The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial – A Pictorial History of the Names on the Wall, Their Service, and Their Sacrifice by John Romeiser and Jack (Nick) McCall, exclusively from UT Press.

Order now

Updates from ETVMA

Battle of Hürtgen Forest

Battle of Hürtgen Forest

The Battle of Hürtgen Forest (German: Schlacht im Hürtgenwald) was a series of battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944, between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II, in the Hürtgen Forest, a 140 km2 (54 sq mi) area about 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Belgian–German border.[1] It was the longest […]

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Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge)

Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge)

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted for five weeks from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. It overlapped with the Alsace Offensive, subsequently […]

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SPC Jeremy Daniel Evans

SPC Jeremy Daniel Evans

SPC Jeremy Daniel Evans passed away on October 2, 2023 near Ft Wainwright, Alaska as a result of a training accident. Jeremy, as he was known to many in the area, was born March 31, 2000. Jeremy attended Gibbs High School before enlisting in the U.S. Army as a private. The family will receive friends […]

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East Tennessee Veterans Memorial at Night

The Memorial

The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville’s World’s Fair Park bears the names of more than 6300 veterans from 35 East Tennessee counties who have died in military service since the beginning of World War I. Those counties are those that comprise the eastern grand division of the state plus Fentress and Sequatchie counties on the Cumberland Plateau.

Explore the Memorial →