Topic: Eternal Flame

Memorial Day vigil honors Vietnam Vets

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 26, 2008 |

• Vietnam Vets honor POW-MIAs
• Rep. Joe Pitts addresses constituency
• “Eternal” Flame unlit on Memorial Day

One by one, as a bell tolled a single chime and the words “Absent, not forgotten” were spoken by people in the viewing stands, Vietnam veterans carried thirty-three empty chairs draped in the black and white POW-MIA logo, carrying the names of Tennessee soldiers still missing from the Vietnam War, to “center stage” and saluted.

To the side, another veteran lit a candle for each name called. Gery Ezell read the roster of the missing. Reverend Elijah Oliver gave the benediction for this vigil.

Dozens of Vietnam veterans and their families gathered in Public Square Sunday evening to honor their fallen comrades, Tennessee’s 33 POWs and MIAs of the Vietnam War. The event was sponsored by Chapter 396 of the Vietnam Veteran’s of America, who launched this annual service in 1989 when the fate of forty-three Tennessee soldier serving in Vietnam did not return. In the intervening years, 10 soldiers have been returned, the most recent in 2005. «Read the rest of this article»

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A simple thing proves to be beyond us!

By Turner McCullough Jr. | May 26, 2008 |

Lighting a flame is just too much to ask. Even during Memorial Day Weekend, the flame is out. Yet “We support the troops!” claims and stickers are everywhere. Who’s foolin’ who?

Yet another national observance dedicated to honoring the nation’s debt to its military forces, past and present, is upon us. Flags are flapping in the wind. Boy Scout Troops are preparing to descend upon various cemeteries to place small flags at veterans graves. Politicians gear up to make patriotic oratory praising America’s military forces and the noble sacrifices made by them and their families, past and present. Even the president has reminded us to remember the veterans as we celebrate this weekend. All of these annual gestures of reverence are expected and applauded

But there is an affront to all this staged posturing in our community. For quite some time now, Clarksville has been playing footloose and cheap with its symbolic gesture to military honor and sacrifice- the eternal flame on Public Square. The flame has been unlit for most of this year. Citizen inquiries have resulted in a myriad of replies, to include being told that, “Surely, the wind must have just blown it out!”

«Read the rest of this article»

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Memorial Day: Remember, honor the fallen

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 25, 2008 |

Though summer is a month away, Memorial Day has become the traditional launch date for the summer season, with all the accompanying hype about barbecues, picnics, the end of school for many, the start of vacation season for many others.

And while all of that is true, we need to take the time to remember and honor the reason we have this holiday: our veterans and our soldiers on active duty.

War has littered America’s historical landscape, beginning with the Revolutionary War that forged the democracy we live in. The Civil War bloodied our own soil in a way that World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam, did not, though those wars took an enormous toll on American soldiers and their families. There have been other battles along the way, inclduing the much more recent and controversial Gulf Wars I and II (a.k.a the Iraq war). «Read the rest of this article»

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Military tribute launches Rivers & Spires

By Bill Larson | April 18, 2008 |

Rivers & Spires, an award-winning festival with live music, activities for the kids, and great food, returns to Clarksville for its fifth season. Rivers & Spires is staged on every street corner in historic downtown Clarksville and at Riverfront Park.

Rivers & Spires Festival orginated in 2003 as a tribute to the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who, at the time, were returning from a deployment. Since then, it has continued to honor the community’s heritage by paying special tribute to Fort Campbell soldiers, many of whom are are currently deployed overseas, and their families.

The 2008 event opened with a re-igniting of the eternal flame on Public Square. Before the ceremony, I was reassured by City Councilor Geno Grubs that the flame, which has been off more than on over the past year, had been snuffed by a mechnical problem, and not by a city trying to save money or “the wind blowing out the flame.” «Read the rest of this article»

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Unlit Eternal Flame dishonors all veterans

By Bill Larson | March 16, 2008 |

Saturday was the fifth anniversary of the launch of the invasion of Iraq. Since the 2003 invasion America has suffered the grievous loss of some of it’s best, brightest, and most patriotic citizens. As I noted just a few days ago, the casualties of this war had reached 3987; 84 of those were from Tennessee, 4 from Clarksville.

As many of you know, I have in the past written articles strongly disagreeing with the Iraq war. I still oppose it and will continue to protest until it is finally ended, and the last American soldier has safely returned home. Now that we have made that clear, I must make something else clear.

 I have nothing but the highest respect for the dedication and the totality of the sacrifices that the soldiers serving our country make. As someone who has served in the military I understand that those who serve in our military are not granted the privilege of being able to cast a moral judgment about the legitimacy of the wars they are ordered to fight, and they share none of the blame so richly deserved by those who intentionally lied us into this conflict.

So on Saturday around dusk I went to Public Square in downtown Clarksville Tennessee in order to conduct what amounted to a one person vigil honoring those lives which have been lost in this unjust and immoral war in Iraq. I said my silent prayers for the souls of those no longer with us, and my continuing prayer for the safe return of those who are still in harms way.

After I was finished, I went for my camera. It is frequently said that a picture speaks a thousand words, so I will let the picture I took speak loud and clear, “Someone has a lot to answer for!” Fuel the flame; honor our soldiers.

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Fuel the flame; honor our soldiers

By Christine Anne Piesyk | November 13, 2007 |

World war I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the Armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

Saturday, November 10, was a day of parades, ceremonies, and memorials, flags, uniforms and speeches honoring the veterans of American wars, including the current conflict in Iraq. Sunday, November 11, was the actual holiday, the Holy Day of Days for veterans across the country. So what happened in Clarksville on this Veteran’s Day?

The light went out. An unheralded extinguishing of eternal flame in downtown Clarksville, a flame that is supposed to be a blaze of flame in the night sky over the city. This darkening should be considered an insult to every person serving in the military today, and to every citizen of this country. The darkening of the flame (which has happened before with no fanfare) is also a slap in the face to the vets of Vietnam, Korea, both world wars, and every other war in our history. The fact that it happened on Veteran’s Day and as Christmas lights are being illuminated citywide just magnifies the force of that slap. «Read the rest of this article»

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