News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Crossville will soon be the home of a new Vietnam Veterans Memorial thanks to the Cumberland County Chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America.
Chapter President Tom Oberts said the idea came about when he had seen other monuments in the bi-monthly Vietnam War magazine and realized Crossville did not have one itself. He said Cumberland County has the largest population of veterans in the state of Tennessee, and they all deserved to be honored and recognized.
“Us Vietnam Veterans had a rough time after the war, we were not treated very well and since I moved here to Crossville I found out how the community here loves veterans,” Oberts said. “We totally appreciate what we get when we are thanked for our service. It’s a big deal to us guys.”
Oberts said the memorial is proposed to go in Memorial Park with the other war memorial monuments. He said the monument will be a five-by-five monument of stone engraved with an inscription and brass medallions that represent each military branch that participated in the war.
Oberts said the best part about the monument is that other than the brass medallions, the monument is totally free. He said Cumberland Stone and an engraving company both agreed to do the work free in honor of the veterans.
“I get choked up at the charity of the people here,” Oberts said. “And then the monument company is doing all their work including the installation of the monument for free. The only expense we’re going to have is it cost me $1,100 for the brass medallions. You have to order them and they get made up by a design company that does that stuff. I shopped around and looked for the best medallions, not necessarily the best price. I was looking for quality.”
Oberts said they hope to unveil the monument on March 29th, Vietnam War Veterans Day.
