Veterans get free tour of historic Shiloh battlefield

SHILOH, Tenn. — Shiloh National Military Park honored veterans by giving them an opportunity to travel back in time.

“It’s hard to do things for veterans that nobody else has done for them, so the [National] Park Service is reaching out to offer these free tours for the veterans on their special day,” said Keith Willingham, a volunteer for Shiloh National Military Park.

Veterans went through almost 5,000 acres of land and stopped at several monuments representing states that participated in the Civil War.

“I try to find out where each veteran is from and make sure if they had a state represented here, that they get to go by their monument,” Willingham said.

Willingham says this tour allows veterans to look back into the 1862 battle.

“It gives them the perspective of the warfare that they’ve gone through, and they can look back and see how soldiers back then might have faced some of the same situations,” Willingham said.

One of the veterans on the tour says this park means a lot to him.

“This battlefield in my opinion is untapped. It’s very sparsely visited, and we really enjoy coming here. We love the staff here. We’ve been talking to them for years and just want to thank them for their time and their efforts,” said Tim Michaels, a Marine Corp veteran.

Willingham says being the veteran’s tour guide is one way he can show his appreciation for them.

“I’ve given tours before, but doing it for the veterans is something that I jumped on. I can’t do much, but this is something I can do, and it’s a little bit, but hopefully it means something to the veterans,” Willingham said.

For more information on Shiloh National Military Park, click here.

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