Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway signs to be relocated after Vietnam veterans object to sharing space

GALLATIN, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) — Signs designating part of a roadway in Tennessee as the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway are being moved after Vietnam veterans voiced concerns.

Sumner County Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield said the signs were installed on a stretch of State Route 386 long known as Vietnam Veterans Boulevard. The strip is dedicated to the 25 Sumner County service members who died in the Vietnam War.

Mansfield said many veterans were upset over the Charlie Kirk signs being placed along the roadway intended to honor those who died in service.

“Many of our Vietnam veterans were angry and frustrated to see this designation placed on ground set aside to honor their brothers in arms,” Mansfield said in a statement Monday.

Mansfield also said that Vietnam veterans were not consulted before the first Charlie Kirk sign was installed.

“To every Vietnam veteran who spoke up, thank you. Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice. Your opinion on this mattered, and I was surprised to learn they were never consulted before the first sign went up,” Mansfield said in a statement.

Mansfield said State Rep. Johnny Garrett, who selected the initial location for the Charlie Kirk Memorial Highway, has agreed to move the signs to Long Hollow Pike in Goodlettsville.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation said in a statement:

“The Tennessee General Assembly approves memorial designation of roadways, while the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is responsible for fabricating and installing the signage. Regarding the placement or removal of the signage, TDOT will follow the direction provided by the General Assembly, which we have not yet received.”

Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was assassinated in September 2025. Tennessee lawmakers have named multiple pieces of legislation after him, though Kirk did not have ties to the state. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and later lived in Arizona. He was killed in Utah.

Another new Tennessee state law, the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, took effect July 1. It allows Tennessee public educators to teach about the “positive impacts of Christianity on American history,” though it is not required.