Greeneville veteran lobbies for more gravesites at Andrew Johnson National Cemetery

The National Park Service had to suspend then end burials for East Tennessee veterans at the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in Greeneville in 2019 due to lack of space for new gravesites.

Advocacy groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars recently asked for and received endorsement from the Greene County Commission for a resolution that will be forwarded to park officials and hopefully to the President for expansion approval.

“It’s hard enough on a family to lose a loved one. …It’s hard enough for them to have to travel all the way out of town somewhere to visit a veterans cemetery,” said Grady Bearfield of the Greene County Honor Guard describes of the hardship for some families traveling more than 30 miles to Johnson City and Mountain Home to see a loved one’s marker. Bearfield says his group is serving 80 to 100 funerals a year for members of the armed forces.

Commission chair Kevin Morrison says the sacrifice and work Bearfield and others have accomplished should be honored.

“…Grady, I just wanted to say that in front of everybody because some people just don’t know how much time and effort you put in to take care of your brothers in arms,” the chairman said.

(IMAGE: Property of National Park Service)