3 minute read
Well Read
WELL READ By: Jamie Ballinger
Baker Donelson
The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial: A Pictorial History of the Names on the Wall hits close to home in many ways. The book honors the lives of some of the 6,200 East Tennessee veterans who gave their lives from World War I through the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of us have seen these names on the 32 granite pylons of the Memorial in World’s Fair Park. And, one of the Knoxville Bar Associations’ own, Jack “Nick” McCall, co-authored the book with John Romeiser, Professor Emeritus of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Tennessee. I was excited to read the book because of my history as a Normandy Scholar and also because both Nick and John are friends. Nick has been a frequent lunch companion for years and John was my professor at the University of Tennessee in the Normandy Scholars Program. He was with me in Normandy, France when I met my husband in 2000. Needless to say, I want to be upfront that this is not an unbiased review!
Seeing the names on the Memorial is powerful. But, the book endeavors to provide a glimpse of the women and men behind the names using the vast materials gathered by the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association. These materials have been submitted by family members, friends, genealogists, historians, and veterans for the past 11 years. For most veterans featured, the write up of their life includes a photo, excerpts of the memories of their friends and family, local newspaper coverage at the time of their death, and the military circumstances of their death. As is expected, many of these veterans died doing extraordinary acts of bravery, and, upon reading it you are in awe of their courage and, very often, selflessness. The book, however, also shares the heartbreaking deaths of those, for example, who were never seen again in the Pacific when their ship was downed or those that died from illness. It recognizes that service and honor takes many forms.
The book is 389 pages and is beautifully written. Though it is ripe with history, it is also accessible for those that might not typically choose a history book. It has a variety of poetry, both from veterans and notable authors, woven throughout. It is divided into 16 sections. Each section focuses on the stories of veterans in different contexts with the first section providing an indepth look at the fourteen East Tennesseans who received the Medal of Honor. The sections that follow are devoted to the veterans of the conflicts since World War 1, including World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Wars in the Middle East. The book also has sections devoted to East Tennessee Aviators, including Charles McGhee Tyson, and the Japanese Hell ships,
among others topics. The final section is The Roll of Honor, listing the 6,200 names of the veterans lost from World War I to the present day organized by County.
Of course, anyone with a love of history will enjoy the book. But, I also believe anyone with a love of East Tennessee and its people would like it just as well. For me, the most moving part of the book were the photos. The young faces pictured, paired with the memories of their friends, so often reminded me of my own friends and neighbors. When reading a book this close to home, you know that those featured are related to folks you work with, shop with, and live close to. It helped me learn more about the veterans behind many of the Memorial Bridges and Highways we have in East Tennessee. There is a whole lot of story behind those green and white road signs. Most importantly, the stories of thse veterans reminded me how very connected we all are and how precious our time together as a community is. East Tennessee is a place that many brave men and women called home and never returned. This book sees that their lives, not just their deaths, are remembered.
