East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association — To Remember, Honor, Educate and Inspire

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 15 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.

The Last Great Battle in the Pacific

On 1 April 1945, U.S. ground forces began the Battle of Okinawa. The objective was to secure the island, thus removing the last barrier standing between U.S. forces and Imperial Japan. With Okinawa firmly in hand, the U.S. military could finally bring its full might upon the Japanese, conducting unchecked strategic air strikes against the Japanese mainland, blockading its logistical lifeline, and establishing forward bases for the final invasion of Japan (Operation Olympic), scheduled for the fall of 1945.

The battle, which went into the month of June, was one of the most ferocious of the war with American casualties reaching a staggering 49,151, of which 12,520 were killed or missing. On an individual basis, 24 service members received the Medal of Honor for actions performed during the Battle of Okinawa. Thirteen went to the Marines and Navy corpsmen, nine to Army troops, and one to a Navy officer.

Forty-three (43) East Tennesseans (see names below) gave their lives during the battle with one, Elbert L. Kinser (Greene County), being awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his valor and intrepidity.

Name	Branch	County
Ailor, James T.	Army/Army Air Forces	Knox
Allen, Hugh H.	Army/Army Air Forces	Sevier
Burleson, John B.	Army/Army Air Forces	Monroe
Chase, James L.	Marine Corps	Greene
Chastain, Houston	Marine Corps	Sullivan
Cline, Athel J.	Army/Army Air Forces	Claiborne
Cockrum, James A.	Marine Corps	Knox
Coffman, John K.	Marine Corps	Roane
Cole Jr., Allen W.	Marine Corps	Sevier
Colquitt, Herbert R.	Navy	Knox
Crowder, Hubert W.	Army/Army Air Forces	Monroe
Fleenor, Joseph I.	Marine Corps	Sullivan
Goforth, Ernest P.	Army/Army Air Forces	Roane
Harris Jr., J. D.	Navy	Hamilton
Hill, Abraham L.	Marine Corps	Blount
Hoover, Owen E.	Marine Corps	Knox
Kennedy, James C.	Army/Army Air Forces	Knox
Kinser, Elbert L.	Marine Corps	Greene
Kreis, William W.	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamblen
Leonard, Woodrow	Marine Corps	Monroe
Levi, Eddie L.	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamilton
Long, Clarence W.	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamilton
Mannon, George	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamilton
McCurry, Richard P.	Marine Corps	Knox
McDaniel Jr., C. J.	Army/Army Air Forces	Knox
Miller, Cyrel E.	Marine Corps	Roane
Monds, Jerry S.	Navy	Hamilton
Moore, J.C.	Army/Army Air Forces	Roane
Mynatt, James P.	Navy	Knox
Owens, Kenneth H.	Marine Corps	Blount
Palmer, Elbridge W.	Army/Army Air Forces	Sullivan
Patterson, Eather E.	Army/Army Air Forces	Blount
Poe, John J.	Marine Corps	Hamilton
Prince, Hugh P.	Navy	Unicoi
Ray, Raymond F.	Marine Corps	McMinn
Romines, Robert S.	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamilton
Sharp Jr., Floyd J.	Army/Army Air Forces	Knox
Stokley, Ernest M.	Navy	Greene
Thompson, George E.	Army/Army Air Forces	Roane
Vickers, Harold L.	Army/Army Air Forces	Hamblen
Waters, Charles E.	Army/Army Air Forces	Johnson
Wileman, Mack W.	Army/Army Air Forces	Marion
Wolfenbarger, Theodore	Navy	Knox

Updates from ETVMA

The Last Great Battle in the Pacific

The Air War in Europe and the “Bloody 100th”: Some of the “Masters of the Air” From East Tennessee

The story of the air war in Europe during WW II is one of tremendous courage and catastrophic loss. It is the story of US-made B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators, shuttled across the North Atlantic from Canada into Great Britain where they were readied for perilous bombing missions into northern Europe (Occupied France and […]

The Battle for Iwo Jima

U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, after months of naval and air bombardment. The Japanese defenders of the island were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle. The Battle for Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. […]

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.

The 13th Annual ETVMA Medal of Honor Evening is Monday, May 6th, 2024.

To Remember, Honor, Educate, and Inspire…

The Last Great Battle in the Pacific

Find A Veteran

ETVMA Book now available

Updates from ETVMA

The Last Great Battle in the Pacific

The Air War in Europe and the “Bloody 100th”: Some of the “Masters of the Air” From East Tennessee

The Battle for Iwo Jima

The Memorial

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