KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Army ROTC cadets, alumni, and families gathered Sunday at the University of Tennessee’s Armed Forces Veterans Memorial to honor service members who gave their lives for the country.
One by one, 368 names now echo across the University of Tennessee’s Armed Forces Memorial. Each represents a student, faculty or staff member who gave their life for service. This year, the ROTC Alumni Council added another name to the plaque after discovering a veteran who died in action more than a century ago.
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“I think it’s really important for students to see these sorts of things, to know the tradition,” said Logan Hickman, UT ROTC Alumni Council member. “They might graduate but the tradition lives on. It never graduates. And by ceremonies like this, they remember that there were so many that went ahead of them that made that ultimate sacrifice.”
Among those listening was Paula Knauss-Selph, a UT alum and Gold Star mother. Her son, Staff Sergeant Ryan Christian Knauss, was born and raised in Corryton and killed in the 2021 Kabul Airport attack, the final U.S. service member to die in the 20-year war in Afghanistan…