Veterans Walk of Honor expanding to add more names

Published 3:45 pm Friday, October 14, 2022

As the number of veterans who have served in the armed forces of the nation continues to grow through the years, Carter County’s Veterans Walk of Honor has continued to grow longer. The walls surrounding the walk now have a total of 5,850 granite bricks, each carrying the name and branch of service of one veteran with Carter County connections. As anyone who takes a close look at the walls will realize, all of the spaces for the bricks are full.

That is the reason the walls have gotten longer, to make space available for new veterans who were honorably discharged or who continue to serve. Phase 3 of the wall construction will provide space for another 261 bricks. The section already has had 63 new bricks installed, leaving space to honor an additional 198 veterans.

Elizabethton Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Carter, a member of the Elizabethton Veterans Oversight Committee, said the Walk of Honor began construction in 2002. He said the people responsible for the latest addition include brick mason Charlie Hayes, masonry brick and mortar provided by General Shale, flag donations by Sen. Rusty Crowe, storage and warehouse during construction provided by Mapes Piano, bricks by Hitchcock Monument, logistics help provided by Danny Hilbert and the Elizabethton Street Department, and assistance provided by City Engineer and Programs Manager Matthew Balog.

Now that more spaces are available, Carter said eligible veterans and family members of the veterans may begin the process of adding a new name to the wall by going to City Hall and asking for an application. “They will need proof of military service, such as a Department of Defense Form 214,” Carter said. “The bricks cost $100.”

In addition to Carter, Veterans Oversight Committee members are: Mike Barnett, Tom Hitchcock, Rick Walters and Andy Wetzel. They are working on other projects, such as the annual Veterans Day observance, working with cadets from Elizabethton High School, and working on an electronic database to make it easier to locate a veteran’s brick on the wall with 5,850 bricks on it. Although the bricks were installed in alphabetical order, they were placed as the wall was built, so the brick could be at one of several locations.

Carter said the new database will make it easier to find each veteran’s brick.

The annual Veterans Day observance will take place on Friday, Nov. 11, starting at 11 a.m. This year, the ceremony will be held at the Veterans Walk of Honor rather than the Veterans War Memorial.