John Otis Nichols, a US Army Veteran, was aware of the ambitious Veterans Memorial Park project planned for a 1.6 acre lot near the Cheatham County Public Library, but admits he hadn’t fully embraced the vision. That all changed when he stepped on to the property. Now, he is acting as project supervisor, and the plans are constantly evolving.
“Our purpose is to honor all the veterans of Cheatham County, and also to memorialize those who died in service, as well as our POW/MIA,” Nichols said. “It’s a fairly big project. We’re going to have five large monuments, that will individually honor Veterans of WWI and WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, the modern era (ex. Persian Gulf), and lastly, a POW/MIA monument.”
Already under construction are two Veterans walls. Nichols says that upon each of the walls’ eight flat sections, granite panels will be mounted. They will display the names of all Cheatham County’s Veterans going all the way back to the Revolutionary War.
“Well, all the names that we can collect,” Nichols said. “Sadly, there isn’t a central database. We’re in the collection process now. And, when we say Cheatham County, we’re talking about anyone who has ever lived here and called this their home, and who were honorably discharged from any branch of the US Military, our National Guard or Reserve units.
