Back in June of 2026, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) approved the placement of Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway signs in Sumner County, Tenn., mostly along a road already named Vietnam Veterans Boulevard.
What Is the Controversy Over Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway?
They didn’t rename the road, but the signs were placed along both the northbound and southbound sides of the highway.
Several Vietnam veterans objected to the signs immediately, and they asked that they be moved quickly, only to be denied.
Why Did TDOT Deny Veterans’ Requests to Move Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway Signs?
At the time, TDOT said it could only act after getting direction from the Tennessee General Assembly, and lawmakers had not reached out about moving the signs.
“The Tennessee General Assembly approves memorial highway designations, and TDOT is responsible for making and installing the signs,” the department said. “We follow the direction provided by lawmakers, and we had not yet received that direction.”
The problem was, the Tennessee General Assembly is not currently in session, and won’t reconvene until January of 2027.
Lawmakers would not have been able to vote to relocate the signs until at least January, when they return to work.
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Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway Signs Moved After Vietnam Veteran Pushback
All of a sudden, just one day after getting massive pushback from Vietnam veterans and saying that it could not move the signs yet, TDOT said it had received a request from the bill sponsors to relocate the signs.
Bob Schricker, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Sumner County, said, “It’s an embarrassment for them to have ever done this. We should have been asked for our perspective.”
Schricker also said he has no problem with Kirk being memorialized, just not on a highway that honors Vietnam veterans.
“When we came home from Vietnam, we were not appreciated by other veterans organizations, by family, by friends,” he stated.
Who Originally Approved Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway Signs in Tennessee?
State Representative Johnny Garrett, who is also running for Congress, came up with the idea to memorialize Kirk along Vietnam Veterans Parkway.
Garrett tells NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, “That’s a place that I thought might be a good place for people coming into my home county, and leaving my home county. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20.”
NewsChannel 5 asked Garrett if there was anything he wanted to say to Vietnam veterans who had their feelings hurt that they weren’t consulted in this initial decision.
“Look, I heard them, and absolutely was not the intent to hurt them in any way or do anything that would dishonor their honorable service,” replied Garrett.
Where Have the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway Signs in Tennessee Been Moved To?
Garrett says he worked with TDOT to relocate the signs to nearby Long Hollow Pike. He added, “It’s my hope that this is a resolution that we can all celebrate both Charlie’s life and continue to honor our veterans.”
Schricker says he learned, and wants everyone else to also learn “to not forget the sacrifices that veterans gave, and then their families experienced also.”
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