Widow's powerful response to Army general goes viral on Memorial Day
For most military families, Memorial Day is a holiday marked by quiet moments of reflection, but for widows like Ashley Southard, Memorial Day is every day.
Southard lost her husband, U.S. Army Sergeant Andrew 'Andy' Southard, on November 10, 2023, during a routine air refueling mission with Special Forces Unit 160th SOAR in the Mediterranean Sea. He was 27.
Each year, SGT Southard is honored at the Fort Campbell Boots Display Memorial, a powerful visual memorial for those who paid the ultimate price – but a new base policy intends to halt the somber display altogether.
'After a decade of standing as a powerful testament of sacrifice and selflessness, the Fort Campbell Boots Display Memorial will conclude after its final scheduled display May 19-26, 2025. The intent is to transition to the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on post, where Families can reflect and heal, year-round and at a time of their choosing,' a Facebook post announcement read. 'We hope you will join us here to celebrate the memory of each servicemember represented and honor their sacrifice. The military family and community are unlike any other. It is a community filled with resilience and resolve. While the Boots Display will conclude after this year, its significance will endure beyond this farewell as we carry forward the spirit of the memorial in new ways.'
Southard took to social media to voice her digust.
'There will always be a boot display for him here. MG Brett Sylvia, I hope your hotdogs taste like shit and you get a sunburn this weekend,' Southard captioned the now-viral video which amassed more than two million views. Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia is the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Ashley Southard | Author (@ashleynsouthard)
More than 1,600 users weighed in on the video in the comments.
'This Fort Campbell fam is hugging you guys tight, mama. We owe him, and every one, everything (IMO, boots need to be placed on Brett Sylvia's front lawn. Let him get a good look at what he's doing. What a disgrace.)' one user wrote accompanied by an American flag and broken heart emoji.
Another added, 'This was a straight gut punch to the feels. Thank you for being strong enough to share his memory.'
At time of publication, We Are The Mighty did not receive a response to our request for comment from Fort Campbell.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Scottish Love Island star Laura Anderson opens up on 'health struggle' on holiday
Scottish Love Island star Laura Anderson has opened up on her health struggles while enjoying a holiday with her footballer boyfriend. The 36-year-old has shared moments from their break in the Maldives at the luxury Kandima beach resort. Taking to Instagram, the mum has spoken up about her battle with melasma, a common skin condition in adults which can cause darkening of the skin caused by increased melanin, reports The Record. READ MORE: Lorraine Kelly sparks backlash on ITV show after 'absolutely disgusting' segment READ MORE: Louise Redknapp admits 'it's a bit harder' as she opens up about age-gap romance "Off to see my laser guru @rebeccatreston @ Please sort out my melasma I've missed you." She also asked her followers if they would like treatment recommendations or advice, if anyone may be suffering from a similar skin condition. "Do you suffer from pigmentation/melasma/sun spots?," she asked. "Okay guys I have been in the sun all day, always wear my factor 50 and my hat but I think with melasma you still get affected with just the heat so I always try and keep my face really cool. "That's a tip that I learnt, but I'm going to see Rebecca now but look," she gestured as she pointed her face towards the camera. "I don't know if you can see this all kind of multiplied again come back, this is me completely bare faced." She continued: "You can see it here there's definitely a difference between freckles. I love freckles, love to embrace them, but sun spots, melasma, pigmentation is different and can be quite ageing. "I quite like the little bits on my lips but I just want to remove that and Rebecca has all the best lasers in Dubai," as she gestured to her cheekbones. "She always teaches me things and has new techniques that I've never heard of before which are incredibly effective." The star added: "So we are going to go today with pico, really quick easy. I don't think there's any down time so yeah, let's get rid of this." Elsewhere, Laura took to Instagram last week following her house move in a gushing post over how lucky she is in her new home alongside daughter Bonnie, who she shares with ex Gary Lucy. She also gave a special mention to boyfriend Clark, 31. "Busy and booked, The Man of my dreams and a daughter to die for. I never ever thought I'd have all 3," Laura wrote. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Sharing snippets with her 1.5 million Instagram followers, Laura noted, "Here's to the next chapter," alongside a key and house emoji. She added: "And a huge shout out to @ssremovals for moving my life AGAIN! That Ikea wardrobe will officially never be assembled again I promise." The first clip showed the couple sharing a kiss in the expansive outdoor garden. Another video clip showed Laura holding daughter Bonnie as she stood at the front entrance of her new home with Clark. The home boasts grand floor to ceiling windows offering plenty of natural light, looking out onto the impressive garden. Bonnie even has her own play room, which Laura showed off to fans previously. Bonnie and her dog Buddy will certainly have no lack of space in the new home. The influencer was delighted to update fans that her dog was finally coming home, after being away from them for a few months when he didn't settle in her previous Glasgow flat.
Buzz Feed
an hour ago
- Buzz Feed
Walton Goggins And Aimee Lou Wood Break Silence On Feud Rumours
Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood have given a joint interview in which they addressed the media scrutiny they've been under in the last few months. The pair were co-stars in the most recent season of The White Lotus, but found themselves at the centre of speculation when it was spotted that they were no longer following one another on Instagram just before the finale aired. In fact, it even appeared that Walton had gone as far as blocking Aimee on the platform, although both parties had still been speaking favourably about one another at the time, most notably in separate social media posts, which were soundtracked by the Fleetwood Mac anthem Silver Springs. Walton then failed to join most of the cast at a viewing party for the White Lotus finale, in which both he and Aimee played pivotal roles. During a new interview with Variety, Walton put his absence down to his busy schedule as he had been filming the new season of Fallout. However, he told Aimee as part of their joint interview: 'I wish I would have been able to watch this with you. It was so cathartic and so painful, and I regret that. I really do.' Walton later added: 'There is no feud. I adore, I love this woman madly, and she is so important to me. '[She] is Goldie Hawn. [She] is Meg Ryan. She can do anything, and she will. You watch what the next 20 years of her experience will be.' 'We care about each other very deeply,' he added. The Emmy nominee also said that he'd chosen not to dispel the feud reports during a now-infamous interview with The Times because he didn't want to 'speak for both of us' when Aimee wasn't present. Similarly, she chose to remain schtum on the 'feud' reports until now because she felt anything she said would be misconstrued, instead opting to 'sit back and watch these people making something out of absolutely nothing'. HBO As for his unfollowing Aimee on Instagram, Walton put this down to wanting to put some distance between himself and The White Lotus once the show was over. 'I knew what we had gone through, and I knew how close that we had gotten, and I needed to begin to process saying goodbye to Rick and Chelsea,' he said, apparently beginning to tear up. 'And I knew that that was going to take a while for me, so I let her know, this is what I've gotta do. And she was extremely supportive about that.' It's noted in Variety 's piece that Walton had more of a personal connection to Thailand than most of the rest of the cast, as he went travelling near where The White Lotus was filmed years earlier after his first wife died by suicide. Branding the media furore 'ridiculous', he concluded: 'I'm emotional because we haven't been in the same city to ever talk about this. So for me, this is just so wonderful.' Variety noted that the interview took place on the first weekend of May, shortly before both actors walked the red carpet separately at this year's Met Gala. Since then, Walton's wife Nadia Conners has also spoken out about rumours of an affair between her husband and his White Lotus co-star, which she took in good humour.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Steelers' Beanie Bishop says it would be 'pretty cool' to sign 'funny guy' Aaron Rodgers
Steelers' Beanie Bishop says it would be 'pretty cool' to sign 'funny guy' Aaron Rodgers Despite being unsigned, Aaron Rodgers may be one of the most polarizing figures in Pittsburgh — but not if you asked second-year Steelers CB Beanie Bishop Jr. Bishop — whose recent disrespect of the Pitt Panthers football logo has gone viral — was asked on Day 5 of OTAs what it would mean to have Rodgers on the Steelers. Having been linked to Rodgers last season for intercepting two passes from the four-time MVP — and hilariously asking him to sign them — here's what Bishop had to say about the veteran QB (courtesy of Steelers Live): "I think it would be a cool thing. You know, obviously, to have another guy that's ultimately going to be in the Hall of Fame," Bishop said. "I met him when he was in the facility — he's a funny guy. So, I think it'll be pretty cool." Bishop is, of course, referencing the 'secret' meeting at the Steelers facility back in March, during which Rodgers went to great lengths to avoid the media from turning it into a headline — but clearly, he made a positive impression on the young Steelers CB. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
