By Marty Trese, KnoxPages.com Editor
HOWARD – Memorial Day is more than a holiday for friends and family to get together. It is a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives in service to their country. U.S. Marine Cpl. Nathan Anderson lost his life at age 22 while fighting the enemy in Iraq on November 12, 2004. According to militarytimes.com, Cpl. Anderson was serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. and killed in Anbar province, Iraq.
Cpl. Anderson’s Memorial Bridge sign along U.S. 36 between Monroe Mills and Schenck Creek Roads – KP Photo
Cpl. Anderson was a 2001 graduate of East Knox High School. His family talked to former State Representative Margaret Ann Ruhl to set the wheels in motion for the memorial bridge designation. The signs went up earlier this month along U.S. Route 36 at Monroe Mills Road over Schenck Creek.
Ruhl said, “This is a great way to memorialize [military personnel] who gave up their lives for our freedom.”
Cpl. Anderson’s older sister, Meg Anderson, told KnoxPages.com that family was very important to her brother. She and her brother fought like “cats and dogs” when they were younger but then became best friends as they got older. When Meg told Nate that she was pregnant with her first daughter, Adrianna, he was so excited to become an uncle. She said he looked so forward visiting with his family. Meg’s youngest daughter, Milliena, is a 1st base softball player and wears #23, the same number worn by her uncle. Meg says the family gathers every November to remember Nate and have pie, because – as Meg says -“he hated cake.” Meg says her kids will always know who Nate was.
Cpl. Nathan Anderson – photo courtesy Meg Anderson
The location of the memorial is appropriate. “It’s a really great honor to see that sign. We used to ride on that bridge. At one time we lived on the Apple Valley side and another on the Schenck Creek Road side, said Meg. “We used to play in that creek.” Meg says her family has shed some tears and has heard from many who have driven by the signs in the past couple of weeks.
When you drive by remember Marine Cpl. Nathan Anderson, whose sacrifice is the reason we observe Memorial Day.
