The Cookeville-Putnam NAACP recently led an effort to give proper recognition to black veterans who served in World War I and II.
President Tom Savage said the organization canvased Buck Cemetery in Cookeville, Hermitage Cemetery in Algood, and another cemetery in Silver Point. Savage said between all three black cemeteries they found the headstones of 85 black veterans that had no recognition of military service on them.
“Partnered with a group called Wreaths Across America, and they had a huge ceremony here during Veteran’s Day,” Savage said. “And we were able to put wreaths on the graves of those perished black soldiers from World War I and World War II, and actually current soldiers too.”
Savage said the NAACP also partnered with Cookeville and Putnam County to clean up Buck Cemetery and install a new flagpole with a solar-powered light to keep it lit after dark. He said the effort came about from retired Navy Veteran Walter Buck, a member of the Cookeville-Putnam NAACP.
“I was concerned about black veterans who were not recognized in World War I and World War II, and he was concerned about all veterans in general,” Savage said. “So we mixed them all together because there was a PACT Act that was passed by the Biden administration that addressed veterans in so many ways, and we wanted to make sure that the black community participated in this act.”
Savage said it was an easy endeavor because Tennessee is such a patriotic state.
“Everybody wanted to recover those black veterans, as we say, give them their flowers, recognize them, and let our community know about black veterans who were located in black cemeteries,” Savage said.
Savage said some of the issues with properly recognizing black service members were relieved when Harry Truman desegregated the military in 1948.
“After that, everything was kind of alright,” Savage said. “But we wanted to go back and get those veterans that our community didn’t know about. Well, they knew about them, but they were not honored like we honor veterans today.”
Savage said he was personally touched by the effort since he is a Navy veteran himself.
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