NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Tommy Baker, and Tennessee Adjutant General Major General Jeff Holmes recognized veteran state employees and more than 450,000 Tennessee veterans at the annual Governor’s Veterans Day event.

MURFREESBORO – Tennessee State Veterans’ Homes (TSVH) today announced a revised preparedness plan after President Trump declared a National Emergency and Federal health officials mandated all nursing facilities suspend visitation to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 to susceptible patient populations. TSVH facilities in Murfreesboro, Knoxville, Clarksville, and Humboldt will restrict access to all visitors, vendors, and volunteers until further notice. These precautionary measures aim to minimize the risk of exposure to residents, families, and staff. At this time there are no cases of COVID-19 at any State Veterans’ Homes or offices.

MURFREESBORO – On March 05, 2020, The Tennessee Department of Health announced its first case of COVID-19 in Middle Tennessee. While the CDC and state health officials have said the overall risk to the general public is low, Tennessee State Veterans’ Homes (TSVH) is taking precautionary measures to minimize the risk of exposure to residents, families, and staff.

Nashville – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers and Tennessee Adjutant General Major General Jeff Holmes honored and recognized five veteran state employees and more than 450,000 Tennessee veterans of all ages and eras at the annual Governor’s Veterans Day event today on the Tennessee Tower Plaza in downtown Nashville.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers recognize the service and sacrifice of U.S. Army Captain Rufus J. Hyman of Memphis, who was reported missing July 30, 1950 while serving in the Korean War. The Central High School graduate was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division and was engaged in combat actions against the North Korean People’s Army when he went missing. Hyman was 23-years-old.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers recognize the service and sacrifice of U.S. Army Major Trevor Joseph of Collierville. Joseph was killed when his UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while attempting to recover a soldier on the Fort Polk training ranges on September 26. The aviation accident, which is still under investigation, injured three other soldiers. Joseph was the commander of the Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Aviation Regiment, known as “Cajun Dustoff,” at the time of the accident. He was 33-years-old.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers recognize the selfless service and sacrifice of U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jeremy Griffin of Greenbrier. Griffin was killed in action on September 16, 2019 by small arms fire while his unit was engaged in combat operations in Wardak Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces (Airborne) and stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. He was 40-years-old at the time of the attack.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers, Deputy Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tommy Baker, State Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-TN) and Department of Veterans Services Regional Director Tim Forte participated in a solemn unveiling ceremony for the new Gulf War Monument this afternoon on the Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville.

CLEVELAND – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers and Ed Harries, Executive Director of the Tennessee State Veterans’ Home Board, were joined by federal, state and local partners today as they broke ground on the new Bradley County Tennessee State Veterans’ Home in Cleveland.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Department of Veterans Services (TDVS) Commissioner Courtney Rogers and Tennessee State Veterans Home Board (TSVHB) Executive Director Ed Harries today announced the groundbreaking date for the Bradley County Tennessee State Veterans Home as Wednesday, August 21, 2019 in Cleveland. This announcement follows approval by the Tennessee State Building Commission (SBC) earlier today of a $30,524,427 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the new State Veterans Home.

Nashville – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers and Tennessee Military Department Adjutant General, Major General Jeffrey Holmes paid tribute to ten service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the state’s Memorial Day service today.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers recognize the service and sacrifice of U.S. Army Private First Class William Delaney of Kingston, who was killed on November 22, 1944 during World War II. The Roane County native served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division when his battalion engaged with German defenders near Grosshau, in the Hürtgen Forest in Germany. Delaney’s foxhole was struck by an enemy artillery shell and he could not be medically evacuated. He was 24-years-old.

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Deputy Commissioner Tilman Goins completed a tandem parachute jump Wednesday, April 17, with the U.S. Army Parachute Team, popularly known as the “Golden Knights” at Outlaw Field at the Clarksville Regional Airport outside of Fort Campbell, KY.

On January 29th, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange should extend to Blue Water Vietnam Veterans. Blue Water Vietnam Veterans are Veterans who served on a Navy or Coast Guard ship in or around Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Courtney Rogers addressed a room packed with representatives from half of Tennessee’s public and private non-profit higher education institutions last Friday for the fifth annual Statewide Veteran Education Academy hosted at the new Tennessee College of Applied Technology Murfreesboro’s Smyrna campus.