WWI VETERAN'S MEMORIAL

At the close of WW I a community celebration was planned for the returning soldiers in Union County. Hundreds walked, rode horseback, hack and wagon to attend. A company of veterans was organized at the Maynardville Baptist Church and marched through the town. Two brass bands, one from Maynardville and the other from Luttrell, played patriotic music. Jack Sexton from the Maynardville band, and a brass drummer, was extremely loud that day. Many who attended brought their lunch while others bought drinks and snacks at one of the two general stores.

In 1921, a fund drive was launched in Maynardville to erect a monument honoring Union County men who served in the struggle. A large crowd attend from all over the county. Congressman J. Will Taylor, Corm Acuff, and Judge A. L. (Abe) Evens spoke, there may have been others also. Again both brass bands attended and added to the gala. Enough money was raised to construct a monument. Sol Beeler, a stonemason from Luttrell, was engaged to carve the tribute. The names of one hundred and seventy-five soldiers were inscribed in marble located on what later became the site of Horace Maynard High School. From the number of names listed on the monument, two are recorded as having lost their lives in the fighting in France--T. M. Phipps and M(onroe) Stiner. Other Union County boys who were drafted or joined the service out of the county and were killed are not known. Dedicated in 1922, the monument bears an inscription which reads: "They Raised Their Hands in Defense of Liberty."

See a transcription of the names carved on this monument.
-WGT

For more information on this article or any article or publication of the Union County Historical Society please write them at:

Union County Historical Society
P.O. Box 95
Maynardville, TN 37807

Or
E-mail the Union County Historical Society.

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