Volunteer State War Era Veterans Honor Guard

Knoxville, Tennessee

est.1987

American Hero Dying For Freedom

Isn't The Worst That Can Happen

Being Forgotten is! ...

"A Nation Reveals Itself Not Only By

The Men It Produces, But Also By The

Men It Honors. "

John F. Kennedy, President

Website in process of being updated

11 Feb 2024

~

Send A Message To The Web Master

Click the Link below to contact the Web Master

Takes a minute to send the email

Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard Web Master

Answer Yes or Allow to Question - takes a minute for email appear

~

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE VOLUNTEER STATE VETERANS HONOR GUARD

The Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard was founded in August of 1987 by Command Sergeant Major (Ret) Arnold R. Mullins, his wife Patricia L. Mullins and

Chief Master Sergeant Raymond Thomas. The primary purpose of the organization is to honor all East Tennessee honorably discharged veterans who have served

their country with honor in the United States Armed Services. The Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard is a non-profit, volunteer member organization.

The Honor Guard to date has operated from public support and private donations. We are chartered under the jurisdiction and laws of the State of Tennessee.

Since 1987 the Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard has provided full military honors for over 8000 funerals for fallen comrades who have answered the Last

Roll Call. Volunteers in the Honor Guard have served an 18 county areas of East Tennessee with full military honor ceremonies. Honor Guard volunteers visit

area schools, nursing homes, churches and civil organizations, with a flag ceremony and patriotic program, which teaches Americanism and Patriotism. Dedicated

members of the Honor Guard volunteers contribute over 50,000 volunteer-hours per year. Honorably discharged veterans in the East Tennessee area receive

proper full military honors at their funerals, if requested.  As a group of American military veterans, we have devoted our lives to the defense of this great country

and the freedoms we enjoy today, and are determined to honor them and fulfill the promises made.  By defending the freedoms and beliefs that we and our

fore fathers so strongly promote, our armed forces have protected and defended each and every citizen of this land. We are all able to go to sleep at night, secure

in the knowledge that we are free.  We can go about our daily lives without fear, thanks to the willingness of a group of men and women to stand in support and

sacrifice for what is right. In turn they ask for nothing more than the basic respect each of us deserves and the added honor owed to a person who willingly defends

another. Unfortunately even these basic returns are frequently denied, and our veterans end their lives alone and forgotten. Several years ago we organized in

protest to the regrettable occurrence of one of our brethren's silent burial - a burial which did not extend the honor and gratitude earned by the veteran in defense

of this country. We developed a charter and designed a goal that proposes to attend and extend distinguished regards, free of charge, at the burial of any honorably

discharged veteran having served in the armed forces.  The Veterans Honor Guard provides a vital service to families of deceased, eligible veterans by providing

full military honors that the veteran has earned, but cannot receive from the federal government because of budget constraints. 

~

 If you need a copy of your DD-214: The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s online.

 http://vetrecs.archives.gov/ or http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

~

* VA Cemeteries Offering Pre-Need Eligibility Determinations

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has implemented this pre-need eligibility program so that Veterans, spouses and

dependent adult children may better prepare for burial in a VA national cemetery prior to the time of need. Interested individuals

may submit VA Form 40-10007, Application for Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery, along

with a copy of supporting documentation of military service such as a DD214, if readily available, by: toll-free fax at 1-855-840-8299;

or mail to the  National Cemetery Scheduling Office, P.O. Box 510543, St. Louis, MO 63151.

VA is no longer accepting email submissions for VA Form 40-10007, Application for

Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery. We hope to

resume this service in the future. We are continuing to process applications via mail and fax.

Please mail to:
National Cemetery Scheduling Office
P.O. Box 510543
St. Louis, MO 63151

Or fax to:
Fax (toll-free): 1-855-840-8299

Download The Application (VA40-10007.pdf)

~

It's the Soldier,
not the reporter
Who has given us the freedom of the press.
 
It's the Soldier,
not the poet,
Who has given us the freedom of speech.
 
It's the Soldier,
not the politicians that ensures
Our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
 
It's the Soldier
who salutes the flag, 
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag.

~

Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs Major General Tommy H. Baker Commissioner Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs Tennessee Tower, 13th Floor 312 Rosa L. Parks Ave. Nashville, Tennessee  37243-1102 1-615-741-2931 MG Tommy H. Baker is the Interim Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Veterans Services and was previously the Deputy Adjutant General for the Tennessee National Guard. He  provides leadership, assistance and shared responsibility with the Adjutant General for the training and supervision of 13,000 Soldiers and Airmen in the Tennessee National Guard. Major  General Baker has served as a Cavalry and Armor Officer, Maintenance and Logistics Officer and in various command and staff assignments within the Tennessee Army National Guard.  Most recently, Major General Baker served as the Assistant Adjutant General-Army charged with the oversight, training and readiness for the 9,500 member Tennessee Army National  Guard. Prior to that he was the J-4 for Joint Force Headquarters-Tennessee. As the J-4, MG Baker was responsible for the Logistics and Maintenance operations for the Tennessee Army and  Air National Guard. Major General Baker was commissioned in 1985 from Tennessee Military Academy and is a 1995 graduate of the University of Tennessee-Martin with a Bachelor's  Degree in Public Administration. He received his Masters Degree in Business Administration Military Management from Touro University in 2003, and is a 2011 graduate of the United  States Army War College with a Masters in Strategic Studies. He deployed to Kuwait in 2004 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom III serving as the Theater Combat Service Support  Automation Management Officer, and again in 2008 as the Commander of the 30th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at Q-West, Iraq. His awards include the Bronze Star, the  Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge.  Tommy’s interests and hobbies are centered on his family, spending time outdoors and his faith. He is married to Camille who is a consultant for Head Start Programs in the Southeast Region.  He and Camille have two adult children, Hillari, Cody and their daughter in law Niti. Hillari is an international school teacher currently teaching first grade in London, England. CAPT. Cody  Baker is a graduate of the US Army’s helicopter flight school and is currently Commander of B Company, 1-230th Aviation Regiment in Jackson, TN. Niti is a Physician Assistant who works  at her family clinic in Dresden, TN. ~   ~ Here's to The Heroes Who Never Came Home American grave sites in Europe   To View Video, Click On Link Below takes a few minutes to load https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWB5RXnAecE ~ A United States Marine Corps, KIA, 72 Years Ago on Betio, Tarawa,  Medal of Honor Recipient Finally Comes Home to Knoxville, Tennessee.   Here's a video of the funeral for WWII Medal of Honor Recipient Alexander (Sandy) Bonnyman, Jr., USMC. He enlisted at the age of 35; he served as a Private on Gradual Canal and received a battlefield commission in that campaign. At Tarawa, he was an engineer assigned to the Shore Party Unit when he was killed in 1943.    To View Video, Click On Link Below takes a few minutes to load  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OrtCPY3LZI ~ Coming Home Colonel Jack Roger Harris returns to His Families Land First Internment at New East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery - Governor John Sevier   Click on picture to enlarge ~ East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery -  (Lyons View) 5901 Lyons View Pike Knoxville, Tennessee  37919 Phone: 865-577-3228 Fax: 865-573-3630 Cemetery full for new interments Spouses of interned only   Find a Grave in the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery (Lyons View) Knoxville, Tennessee Click on Link Below East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery ~ East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery - (Governor John Sevier) 2200 E. John Sevier Highway Knoxville, Tennessee  37920 Phone: 865-577-3228 Fax: 865-573-3630   Find a grave in the  East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery (Governor John Sevier)  Knoxville, Tennessee Click on Link Below  East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery ~ Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery 7931 McCrory Lane Nashville, Tennessee, 37221 Phone: 615-532-2238 Fax: 615-532-2241   Find a Grave in the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery,  Nashville, Tennessee  Click on Link Below Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery ~ West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery 4000 Forest Hill-Irene Road Memphis, Tennessee, 38125 Phone: 901-543-7005 Fax: 901-543-7141   Find a Grave in the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee  Click on Link Below West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery ~ National Cemeteries of Tennessee   Find a Grave in a Tennessee National Cemetery Knoxville, TN Click on Link Below Tennessee National Cemeteries Transcriptions - Access ... ~ Only Confederate Soldier Buried in Knoxville Tennessee National Cemetery   The story behind this head stone is that the stone was made with a pointed center top. This was to stop Yankee Soldiers from setting on his stone. (Folk-Lore or Truth?) ~ East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery (Governor John Sevier), Knoxville, Tennessee with Christmas Wreath's ~  "I Just Can't Keep From Crying' Sometimes" Video takes a minute for Ann to start singing To View Video, Click On Link Below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwgT4Aii3bY Created by Ann M Wolf ~ Volunteer State Veterans Honor Guard

Front Row, Left to Right: Joyce Scarbrough, Chief Robert Bridges, Staff Sergeant Gary Post, Lieutenant Chuck Sayne, Brigadier General Jim Mungenast, Staff Sergeant Michelle Eberie, Major Mike Inman, Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Church Petty Officer Second Class Roger Apel, Major Ron Ward, Lance Corporal Skipper Bass Back Row, Left to Right: Chief Master Sergeant Gary Woolf , Senior Chief Randy Tipton, Sergeant First Class James Hubbard  Captain Ed Layman, Sergeant Major Bud Cassidy, Staff Sergeant Carl McCarter, Lieutenant Fred Adomat, Petty Officer First Class  Herb Kraehmer, Mule, Sergeant First Class Donald Booker, Sergeant First Class Dan Morris, Sergeant Keith Kregel

~ Honor Guard Vehicle        When you see this vehicle on the road, please pause for a moment and say "Thank You" to a Veteran who has answered the final call to duty. ~ War ERA Veteran Dates World War II / ERA Veteran - December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 Korean War / ERA Veteran - June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955 Vietnam War / ERA - February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975 Gulf War (includes: Gulf War Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom) 08/02/1990 – Open     ~ America's War Dead 1775 - 2021 83 Wars and Assorted Military Actions in the Past 220 Years   ~ ~       Back to top of page