KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Thousands of names written in the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial were called at sunrise in downtown Knoxville on Monday.
At sunrise every Memorial Day, the names of more than 6,300 are read as part of the Reading of the Names ceremony. Volunteer readers read off the names engraved on the granite columns of the memorial, which honor people who died during military service. The memorial was dedicated and officially unveiled Nov. 15, 2008.
The gathering is an annual tribute to veterans who died while giving the ultimate sacrifice, with the names of fallen veterans from 35 East Tennessee counties being read from the memorial.
