Fort Campbell’s annual boot memorial honors active-duty soldiers who have died on and off of the battlefield since September 11, 2001, and it was recently announced that after May the display will not be coming back.
Around 8,000 boots will line the lawn in front of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters for one last time from May 19 to May 26. In an announcement, Fort Campbell personnel shared that they are ending the display to transition to the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument as a place where families can remember and honor their fallen service member year-round.
During this year’s display, family members of fallen service members with a boot displayed in their honor are encouraged to take the boot and the memorabilia with them. Personnel say the significance of the display will endure beyond this farewell and they will carry forward the spirit of the memorial in new ways.