Memorial Day 2021- Remembering Our Veterans

Each year hundreds of volunteers set flags at the graves of veterans to honor the more than 18,000 vets buried at West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Memphis for Memorial Day.

While I was out there this past memorial day, I was shown the grave of Brent Lee Morel who was killed in action in Fallujah in the second Gulf War. His grave was covered with mementos from people who had visited his grave. A former marine, James Lindsey, explained it to me.

When coins are left on the headstone of a military veteran’s grave it lets the deceased soldier's family know that somebody stopped by to pay their respects. If you leave a penny, it means you visited. A nickel means that you and the deceased soldier trained at boot camp together. If you served with the soldier, you leave a dime. A quarter is the most significant because it means you were with him when he died.

Rare Winter Storm in Memphis

Giovanni Johnson jogs shirtless in frigid temperatures near his Memphis neighborhood on Sunday afternoon Feb. 14, 2021. Rahim Rashada found joy in a quiet walking meditation during the snowfall at Shelby Farms. These are a few scenes from the winter storm in Memphis, Tennessee the week of Feb. 14, 2021. The national weather service warned of a major winter storm that impacted the Mid-South all week as temperatures drop into the single digits. Frigid temperatures and winter precipitation fell across the entire Mid-South. Snow and sleet accumulated up to 4 to 7 inches with a wind chill advisory for temperatures as low as 5 below zero.

Rare Albino Turtle at Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo is home to a rare Albino Turtle which is in the China Exhibit near the Pandas. Albinism is the absence of any pigmentation or coloration in scales, nails, skin and eyes, which are pink. Turtles have been roaming the earth for millions of years. Some of them are heading towards extinction.

The Memphis Zoo, located in Midtown, Memphis, Tennessee, United States, is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species.