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A statewide veterans' group instrumental in the naming of Vietnam Veterans Boulevard is calling the renaming of a portion of the road to the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway a "slap in the face," stating that they were not notified of the change.
Despite weeks of mounting pushback to the decision and recent promises from state and local officials to relocate the signs, the Tennessee Department of Transportation confirmed Monday that it had not received orders to remove them, according to a spokesperson.
The signage was passed as part of an omnibus bill by the Tennessee General Assembly in April and covers around a 15-mile length of State Route 386, most commonly known as Vietnam Veterans Boulevard, between the border of the two counties and an intersection connected to Sumner County’s Long Hollow Pike.
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Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, helmed the effort, writing in the bill that the honorific was to “honor the prominent political activist, media personality, and true pioneer for freedom of speech who co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA and served as its executive director until his assassination in 2025.”
But Barry Rice, president of the Tennessee's Vietnam Veterans of America organization, told The Tennessean that his organization had no knowledge of the signage prior to news reporting of its installation.
"We, the Vietnam veterans, did not know anything about this," he said. "We were quite angered and hurt that we saw a sign. All of a sudden, Vietnam Veterans Boulevard was renamed Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway."
The roadway was originally dedicated to Vietnam veterans in 1982, with specific dedication to 25 veterans from Sumner County that were killed in the war. The effort was largely achieved due to the efforts of TVV Sumner County chapter.
He said the abrupt change with no notice felt similar to the intense pushback Vietnam veterans received when they returned home from the war in the 1970s.
"It goes back to how we came home from Vietnam," he said. "Finally, we had Sumner County honor us and the names of the 25 who made the ultimate sacrifice."
According to Rice, Garrett called him the week before, promising that "he had directed TDOT to remove the sign" and relocate it to Long Hollow Pike in Goodlettsville.
However, TDOT confirmed to The Tennessean Monday that no work orders have been submitted.
"TDOT will follow the direction provided by the General Assembly, which we have not yet received," the spokesperson stated.
Because the renaming was passed in an omnibus bill during the legislative session, it is unlikely that the name can be officially removed or redesignated until the next legislative session in January 2027.
Despite this, Jeremy Mansfield, a county commissioner in Sumner County, posted a statement on social media on Monday stating that the "decision" regarding the Kirk signs' location "has been reversed and the signs will be relocated."
Garrett, who is currently running to represent Tennessee's 6th Congressional District, has not responded to requests for comment from The Tennessean.
It is not yet clear how Garrett or Sumner County officials intend to relocate the signs prior to legislative approval.
"Johnny Garrett can't do it, and he is going around saying that he can do all these wonderful things," Rice said.
He noted that the veteran's organization is not opposed to the effort to create a Kirk memorial highway, but "not on our road."
"Vietnam veterans are all for it," he said. "We get it... (But) Charlie Kirk wasn't even born during Vietnam, and he certainly didn't serve over there."
He said veterans' groups from Davidson and Sumner Counties met last week with feelings of "hurt and anger" running "the whole gamut."
"They're all willing and ready to do anything and everything to make sure that this is fixed and it does not happen again," he said.
Rice added that since the phone call with Garrett, wherein the representative said he ordered TDOT to take the signs down, he has received no further communication from the man.
"Garrett's name is mud," Rice said. "Because he has lied, and he called me specifically and told me that he had directed TDOT to remove that sign....He has no intention of calling me back. He's trying to get the heat off (of him)."
The new signage comes after repeated efforts by the General Assembly to honor Kirk in the 2026 legislative session, including a failed bill that sought to place Kirk memorial plazas on every university campus in Tennessee, and a passed bill that increased free speech protections and boundaries on universities.
The USA TODAY Network - The South region's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'Slap in the face.' Veterans irked by move to name Charlie Kirk Highway
