The event is free and open to the public.

This documentary shares stories through letters, journals and photographs through the years – from the Civil War to today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, veterans of World War II, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom (as well as family members) share their stories of what it was like to experience the horrors of war, only to return to “normal society” and still have to do battle with the unseen wounds of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

After the documentary, members of the APSU Student Veterans Organization will share their personal stories as well as answer any questions about reintegration and transition into “regular life” and the challenges and obstacles they faced (and continue to face) along the way.

For more on the documentary “Wartorn: 1861-2010″ go to the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/wartorn18612010.

Clarksville, TN – Three years after the Civil War ended, Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, established May 30th as Decoration Day, a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

Gen. Logan’s order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. … Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

Women Veterans of America Chapter 20

Decoration Day is now Memorial Day, a national holiday celebrated the last Monday in May. There are several opportunities in the area to pay tribute to those who have given their last full measure of devotion to our country and it is my hope that each of you will attend at least one.

This year’s Candlelight Vigil, hosted by Chapter 396 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, will be held on Sunday, May 29th at 7:00pm at the Robert E. Thompson Memorial Garden in Veterans Plaza, 350 Pageant Lane, Clarksville. The vigil remembers the men and women who were left behind in Vietnam when American forces withdrew in 1975. The local vigil first began in 1989, when 43 Tennessee POW/MIAs were honored. Since that time, 11 have been identified and returned, the latest in 2009. For additional information, contact Lyle Christy at 931-920-5650.

The annual Clarksville-Montgomery County Memorial Day ceremony, presented by the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization, will be held at 10:00am on Monday, May 30th at Veterans Memorial Park, 1300 Madison Street, to the rear of the Montgomery County Health Department. The ceremony will feature remarks by local dignitaries with patriotic music and the posting of the colors presented by representatives from the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell. Local veterans’ service organizations will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the William O. Beach Civic Hall in Veterans Plaza. For more information, contact the MCVSO at 931-553-5173.

There will also be a program at 11:00am at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West on Highway 41-A near Hopkinsville, KY, followed by lunch at 12noon at VFW Post 1913 in Hopkinsville. For more information, contact the cemetery at 270-889-6106.

Fort Donelson National Cemetery is located near Dover, TN in Stewart County and was established in 1867 as a final resting place for Union and Confederate soldiers. Their ceremony, hosted by Chapter 104 of the Disabled American Veterans, will be on May 30th at 1:00pm.

The 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, “Iron Rakkasans” welcomed the Veterans back to Fort Campbell and will host several events in their honor.

The Veterans, on May 12th, visited to the Sabalauski Air Assault School, where Veterans witnessed a demonstration of 21st Century combat insertion techniques and Air Assault operations.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, “Iron Rakkasans” will welcome the Veterans back to Fort Campbell and will host several events in their honor.

Veterans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division gather at a memorial dedicated to fallen Soldiers of the 187th Infantry Regiment.

On May 13th, a memorial ceremony will be held in honor of the “Iron Rakkasans” who gave their lives assaulting up Hill 937 and will be followed by an open house at the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment Headquarters.

Colonel Viet Luong, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, speaks with a Vietnam-era Veteran of the brigade during a previous reunion of "Rakkasan" Veterans.

About The Battle of Hamburger Hill

The Battle of Hamburger Hill, also known as the Battle of Dong Ap Bia Mountain, occurred from May 10th-21st, 1969. The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division commenced Operation Apache Snow by striking at the enemy on his ground. For four days the enemy harassed the men of the brigade with mortar, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms fire. Undaunted by this enemy action, the units of 3rd Brigade continued to uncover huge amounts of enemy stores and equipment and to destroy enemy forces.

After pinpointing a stronghold on Dong Ap Bia Mountain, the Brigade launched a series of determined attacks during the ensuing eight days to drive the well trained and equipped enemy from his entrenched positions. Each day, the enemy continued to infiltrate reinforcements to help repel the determined American and Vietnamese forces. After eight days of intense combat, units of the Brigade broke through the enemy defenses and overran their bunker complexes.

The battle continued for another 36 hours while the “Iron Rakkasans” searched for and destroyed all remaining pockets of enemy resistance. During the 12 days of battle the 3rd Brigade and attached units eliminated more than 500 enemy troops, seized large quantities of weapons, explosives, and other military equipment. Throughout their history, the “Iron Rakkasans” have lived by the motto “Ne Desit Virtus – Let Valor Not Fail” and continue to do so today.

At 1:00pm on Friday, April 1st, Loew will lecture in the Honors Commons on “Creation to Contemporary Conflict: Native American Origin Stories as Predictors of Modern Environmental Struggles.” At 3:00pm in the same room, there will be a showing of her documentary film, “Way of the Warrior,” followed by a 4:00pm discussion of the film.

Loew, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, is an associate professor in the department of life science communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also works as a producer for WHA-TV (PBS) and co-host of “In Wisconsin,” a weekly news and public affairs program that airs statewide on Wisconsin Public Television.

She is the author of two books: “Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal” and “Native People of Wisconsin,” a social studies text for elementary school children, as well as dozens of scholarly and general interest articles on Native American topics. She has produced several documentaries, including “No Word for Goodbye,” “Spring of Discontent” and “Nation Within a Nation,” which have appeared on commercial and public television stations throughout the country.

Her PBS documentary, “Way of the Warrior,” examines the role and cultural meaning of Native American military service in the 20th century, including World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Loew has received honorary doctorates in humane letters from Edgewood College in 2003 and in public service from Northland College in 2002. She received the Wisconsin Writers Association Best Juvenile Nonfiction award for “Native People of Wisconsin” in 2003, and in 2001, received the Outstanding Book Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for “Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal.” Loew also serves on the board of directors of the Unity Journalists of Color.

The annual symposium was established in memory of Dr. Joseph Asanbe, APSU’s first professor of African and African-American literature. Born in Nigeria, Asanbe earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Indiana University. After joining the APSU faculty in 1987, Asanbe often expressed his vision of APSU as a diverse university where all people are valued.

The Asanbe Diversity Symposium is sponsored by the APSU Department of Languages and Literature. Co-sponsors are the Office of Academic Affairs, the President’s Emerging Leaders Program, the Honors Program, the Women’s Studies Program, the African American Studies Program, the APSU Department of History and Philosophy, the Hispanic Cultural Center, the Center of Excellence for Creative Arts, the APSU Department of Communication, the Episcopal Campus Ministry and The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

For more information, contact Dr. Karen Sorenson, professor of French, by telephone at 931-221-6246 or by email at .

The museum partnered with the Kiwanis Club’s Service and Sacrifice committee to produce the display of portraits representing service men and women of Montgomery County. These black and white images framing the uniforms were taken from Faces of Valor: Veterans of Montgomery County. A project of the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville, the original display of portraits was unveiled on November 13th, 2004. The panels can be seen in the restored Montgomery County Court House. A few faces on view in Call to Arms will be featured in an upcoming new edition.

The museum will be hosting activities in conjunction with the exhibit throughout the summer. On June 10th, the monthly Art & Lunch series continues with a thirty-minute film on the art styles after World War I. Flag Day (June 14th) will be celebrated with a noon Flag Raising ceremony, reading of the President’s Proclamation, and Taps. Following the outside ceremony there will be a short reception with guest speakers from the Service and Sacrifice Committee. Both of these activities are free and open to the public. Guests will be allowed to view the museum’s exhibit during this special event which runs 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

Call to Arms will run through August 29th, 2010. The Customs House Museum is the second largest general museum in the state of Tennessee, located at the corner of Second and Commerce Streets. Museum hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sundays. For more information on above exhibit and events, contact Terri Jordan, Curator of Exhibits, at (931) 648-5780 or .

The Customs House Museum website is: www.customshousemuseum.org.

A Community Fair featuring local organizations that offer their services to soldiers and their families.

The Community Health Fair gave a people a quick medical checkup, and with the harsh sun and high temperatures the sound advice to keep hydrated.

The Army Aviation Heritage Foundations Sky Soldiers Cobra Demonstration Team

The Red Cross was another life safer cooling people down with their misting fans, and first aid station.

The Budweiser Clydesdales also stayed over after their recent visit to Clarksville to put in an appearance at the Air show.

The Kids Fair kept the younger attendees entertained with inflatables, face painting, duck pond, dance demonstrations and more.

A static display of ground vehicles used by the 101st.

The 101st had a static display of the vehicles which serve our soldiers well during their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan including the life saving Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP), the ubiquitous Hummer,  various helicopters (CH47 Chinook, UH60 Blackhawk, OV58 Kiowa Warrior…), along with several other vehicles.

There was also a collection of historical displays featuring aircraft many of them operated by the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, including their Sky Soldiers Demonstration Team, along with model WWII and Vietnam camps.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so  I will let the image gallery tell you the rest of the story!

506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association

Fort Campbell, KY – The U.S. Army unit that includes the famous “Band of Brothers,” the 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment, has announced a new monument to honor soldiers of the unit killed in service to their country. The 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association, a nonprofit veterans’ organization dedicated to the active duty soldiers and veterans of the 506th Infantry, is acting on behalf of the regiment to collect contributions in support of the memorial.

The granite monument will be funded totally by private contributions, according to COL John P. “Pete” Johnson, commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Campbell,. A Nashville cement contractor, Glenn Goodwin of Roy Goodwin Contractors, is contributing all the materials and labor needed for the foundation of the monument. COL Johnson made the announcement as part of a ceremony welcoming the regiment home from a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment – nicknamed the “Currahees” – has been part of the 101st Airborne Division for most of its history.  It has fought with distinction in World War II, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, suffering in that time over 1,400 killed in action.  It was elevated in the public’s consciousness by the hit movie “Saving Private Ryan” and the television series, “Band of Brothers.”

U.S. paratroopers fix their static lines before a jump before dawn over Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944, in France. The decision to launch the airborne attack in darkness instead of waiting for first light was probably one of the few Allied missteps on June 6, and there was much to criticize both in the training and equipment given to paratroopers and glider-borne troops of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. Improvements were called for after the invasion; the hard-won knowledge would be used to advantage later. (AP Photo/Army Signal Corps)

The regiment parachuted into Normandy before D-Day and fought through the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden to V-E day.  In Vietnam, it achieved additional fame in fierce battles at Hamburger Hill and Firebase Ripcord. It has been deployed to Korea protecting the northern borders, and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It recently returned to Fort Campbell, home of the parent 101st Airborne Division.

The volunteer 506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association sponsors scholarships, packages for overseas soldier, and aid programs for the families of soldiers killed or wounded in action.  In doing so, it brings veterans and active duty troops together, and hosts a large website dedicated to the history and people of the regiment.

The Association will accept tax-deductible contributions by mail, or electronically through their website at  http://www.506infantry.org. The Association is a charitable War Veterans Organization under IRS section 501(c) (19), and as such, contributions are tax deductible.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides were used in Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to remove unwanted plant life and leaves which otherwise provided cover for enemy forces. Exposure to Agent Orange has caused 11 different diseases to develop among veterans who served in Vietnam.

It has also been concluded that exposure to Agent Orange could also affect the offspring of these veterans. Please contact the nearest VA medical center for an examination. Visit http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp?isFlash=1 to find a center near you.