Memorial coins created for families of veterans
PARKERS CROSSROADS, Tenn. — West Tennessee Veterans Coalition partnered with Arrington Funeral Home of Jackson to create a memorial coin.
“Today, we are presenting coins to the Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads to be presented to families of veterans who are interred here,” said Jackie Utley, chair of the West Tennessee Veterans Coalition. Moving forward, at the end of each funeral ceremony, the families of veterans will receive the memorial coin along with the tri-folded flag they normally receive. “This coin that they can carry, should they go to a family reunion or they just wanted to carry it with them at all times. It’s a tangible product to have the memory of that veteran with them at all times,” said Bob Arrington, president of Arrington Funeral Directors. Arrington provided the funding for the coins. He says he felt this was something that had to be done immediately for the families. “When it came to us that this was another way to give families, a tangible to carry with them to honor that veteran, it was an immediate yes. We wanted to participate,” Arrington said. Cemetery Director of Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at Parkers Crossroads, Eddie Long says it’s a complete honor to have been chosen to receive the coins to distribute. “A memory that you just really can’t get anywhere else, that these were made specifically for this veterans cemetery and so, for all of our veterans that are interred here. I think they’ll be prideful for them. I think it will be something for them to look at and remember for the rest of their lives,” Long said. The cemetery plans to distribute the coins to families who have also already had their loved one buried at the cemetery in the past. You can stay up-to-date on news from across the state with the WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News app.
