This year’s event honors Army Sergeant Mitchell W. Stout of Lenoir City who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Khe Gio Bridge in Vietnam in 1970. The event will begin with a social hour including complimentary beverages followed by a buffet dinner and an address by Don Wittenberger, author of “The Battle at Khe Gio Bridge,” at 6:30 p.m.
The memorial is a public plaza with a formal arrangement of granite pillars bearing the names of 6,172 fallen heroes from 35 East Tennessee counties who died in military service during named conflicts beginning with World War I. It was dedicated and officially unveiled Nov. 15, 2008 and is located at the north end of World’s Fair Park in Knoxville, TN near the L&N Station. The names of the 14 Medal of Honor recipients from East Tennessee are inscribed and honored on the reverse side of the pillars. Quotations related to the wars and national service offer an occasion for reflection and meditation. A bell tower tolls for those lost, and for the four essential freedoms we honor and defend. Major support for the Memorial has come from Knox County, the city of Knoxville, the State of Tennessee, the Federal Government and hundreds of individuals, businesses and groups.
Sergeant Mitchell William Stout was born on Feb. 24, 1950 and was originally from Loudon County, Tennessee. He served his country in the Vietnam War in the United States Army as a light air defense artilleryman in C battery, 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery, 108th Artillery Group, I Field Force. He had served in the Army for two years before his second tour in Vietnam, which began on Jan. 30, 1970. On March 12, 1970, Sgt. Stout was killed under hostile conditions at Khe Gio Bridge, South Vietnam while saving other members of his unit from a grenade attack; he was 20 years old at the time of his death. For his courage and selflessness during the battle, Sgt. Stout was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He is buried at Virtue Cemetery in the Concord community of Knox County and is memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Panel 13W, Line 121.
Individual tickets are $75 and tables of 8 are $600. Proceeds will help fund maintenance and upkeep of the memorial and a portion of the costs are tax deductible.
For more information, email info@etvma.org or visit www.etvma.org. Event sponsors include Pilot Travel Centers/Flying J, the Knoxville News Sentinel, Pro2Serve, Stowers Machinery and Home Federal Bank.