27-05-2025
Fallen soldiers honored at Mountain Home National Cemetery
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Veterans and families of fallen soldiers gathered at the Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City for a ceremony Monday in honor of Memorial Day.
The ceremony included a missing soldier table presentation, a wreath laying by gold star families and a rendering of honors.
'It's just a solemn remembrance to those who have passed, to have the P.O.W./M.I.A. table set up,' said Richard Munoz, Director of Mountain Home. 'So not only to remember those that we know by name, but also to remember those that we do not know that have no name.'
Munoz said he served in the Marine Corps for 20 years.
'We do this job because it's a calling,' Munoz said. 'We do it because we constantly serve our families, our nation. It's a way of continued service to our families.'
Munoz said it's also important to honor those who have served, whom we don't know.
'Keep on remembering those that they don't even know, that have gone before them to provide the freedoms that we cherish today.'
Army Veteran Ludwig 'Lou' Pesch immigrated to the U.S in the 1960s and served in the Vietnam War.
'Memorial Day is more than what you see here,' Pesch said. 'I was a Boy Scout in Belgium. There were 4,000 American soldiers who were buried there in the Battle of the Bulge in my area.'
Keynote speaker Colonel Henry Reyes served in the Army National Guard.
'I think it's important for them to see that everybody still remembers who they are and how important they are to this nation,' said Reyes. 'We do have a lot of people, especially here at Mountain Home and the Tri-Cities area that went through the different wars and do have issues both physical and mental and how important it is that we also remember them as well.'
Reyes also said not only should people thank the service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the field, but also the family members they left behind.
'A lot of people don't think about when a veteran has passed away, how the families feel and how they go and what all the different things they go through,' said Reyes.
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