Military Honors

Thunderstorms delayed official Memorial Day services but many showed up at the Nashville National Cemetery to honor military men and women who died.

Ashley Slayton, DI Multimedia Scholar

Despite thunderstorms that forced the cancellation of a Memorial Day Service, friends and families turned up to honor their loved ones Monday at Nashville National Cemetery.

“We’ve been coming for twenty-five years,” said Terry Coffey, a Nashville resident, who came to visit her father’s grave. “We come rain or shine. We just think about all they went through.”

While the band packed away instruments after the 2 p.m. event was canceled, a Civil War re-enactment group spoke to families who braved the wind and rain to attend the event.

Norman Hill, chair of the Tennessee Historical Commission, was dressed as a sergeant with the 13th United States Colored Troop. Hill said the group was formed in memory of the unit that fought in the Battle of Nashville and the 1,100 troops buried in the cemetery that died in the battle.

“Each Memorial Day, we’re out here and we do this in remembrance for all of them,” Hill said. “Each of us that do this has our own particular reason for doing it.”

Hill added that many of the group had ancestors who had participated in the war and others had family members who were buried in the cemetery.

“It’s both historical and personal,” Hill said.

An Abraham Lincoln impersonator surprised audiences by choosing not to recite the Gettysburg address. He opted instead to recite a letter of condolence Lincoln had written to Fanny McCullough.

As he finished the speech the audience gave him a round of applause. Families asked the group questions as the drizzle began again.

“You know what kills me?” asked Bill Radcliffe, who was dressed as a Sergeant major with the 13th USCT. “Memorial Day Sales. How else can you cheapen life and liberty than to have a sale?”

As the rain began increasing and the crowd began to disperse among the graves, Radcliffe turned to a small group of bystanders.

“These are the real heroes,” he said, pointing at the graves around them. “We’re just trying to keep them alive.”