SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Families, veterans and many other groups gathered at the Elkmont Amphitheater on Saturday for a special ceremony.
American Legion Post 104 in Sevierville honored and paid respects to veterans buried in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by placing and retrieving flags placed in ceremonies at the park. The event was also meant to show support for the Veterans Heritage Site Foundation.
Volunteers with the foundation have hiked to 61 different sites in the Great Smoky Mountains to place flags and wreaths on veterans' graves.
The ceremony was also meant to honor woman veterans, after Governor Bill Lee declared June 12 as Women's Veterans Day. It was also a chance to make sure Vietnam veterans receive their "Welcome Home" pinning.
Any veterans who did not receive their pinning were pinned at the ceremony.
The amphitheater is in the Elkmont Campground. The ceremony began at 11 a.m. Several speakers appeared during the ceremony. Many recognized veterans in the audience, and some spoke about Revolutionary War veterans who could be buried in the park.
