East Tennessee Fallen Soldiers Honored With Hero Cards
The Grateful Nation Project presented all KCS schools with a collection of Hero Cards on Friday at West High School.
Each Hero Card included the name and image of a fallen service member along with a brief part of their story and a number that links to a more detailed online tribute.
A set of cards will be donated to each KCS school for teachers and students to check out and use in the classroom.
“There’s a story behind every one of those names,” Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said. “One of the wonderful things about these cards is that they drive that home. These were people. These were individuals with families, ordinary people, who were willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives.”
The card deck now features six new additions–all of which are originally from East Tennessee. The new additions include 1st Sgt. Milo Lemert, 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr., Sgt. Thomas R. Hicks, 2nd Lt. Jane M. Blevins, Capt. Marcus Ray Alford Sr., and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.
Retired Capt. Bill Robinson gave the keynote address. Robinson served in the Air Force and was captured and tortured during the Vietnam War. He was a prisoner of war for nearly seven and a half years, the longest time any U.S. military personnel has ever been held captive.
Read more about the Grateful Nation Project’s Hero Cards here.
