Tribute to MOH Recipient Elbert Kinser Planned Nov. 11-12

Marci Salyer, head of the communications program, has written and will perform a tribute to Greeneville native Elbert Kinser.

Veterans Day Program Honors Sgt. Ebert Kinser

          Walters State Community College plans a veterans day tribute to Greene County native and Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Elbert Kinser, featuring Marci Salyer Nimick, associate professor head of the college’s communications program.  
          “No Greater Love: My Walk with Elbert” will be performed at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 and 12 in the Lyceum at the Walters State Community College Niswonger Campus in Greeneville. Admission is free and doors open at 6 p.m.  
          This original show took on even greater meaning after a bridge named in Kinser’s honor collapsed following flooding from Hurricane Helene in October.
          “I realized that memorials are fleeting,” Nimick said. “I want his story preserved for all.”
          Nimick, known for her storytelling and songwriting skills, wrote a third original song for the play, “More Than a Bridge,” following the floods. 
          Kinser joined the Marines at the age of 20 in 1940, leaving the day after his family’s tobacco crop was harvested. He was a seasoned combat veteran by the time he landed in Okinawa, Japan with Company 1, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines in April 1942. A month later, he engaged enemy forces in a grenade battle as his company sought to secure a strategic hill. When an enemy grenade landed near him, he threw himself on it, absorbing the full charge of the explosion while protecting his fellow marines. He saved his men, but he did not survive the blast. 
          For this gallantry at the risk of his own life and beyond the call of duty, Kinser was posthumously awarded the country’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. He is one of 14 East Tennesseans to receive the honor since it was established during the Civil War.
          Nimick began researching Kinser’s life in January, following a suggestion from her colleague, Dr. Jerry Wilhoit, professor of biology. She had asked her Niswonger Campus colleagues for suggestions of Greene County natives whose stories needed to be told.
          “Jerry immediately suggested Elbert Kinser. I didn’t know who Elbert Kinser was, but I drove over his bridge often.” 
          Nimick’s research included spending time with the Kinser family, including his little brother, Charles Kinser. His vivid memory of the last time he saw his big brother is part of the show. 
          Nimick will be accompanied by Freedom Strings, a local group of musicians brought together for this event. Members include Wilhoit on the guitar and mandolin; Tom Bullen on the fiddle; Kevin Casteel on the guitar; and Heath Van Winker on the bass.
          Reservations are requested and can be made at https://forms.office.com/r/Xifq3Tzv5j, by emailing Gayle.NelsenFREEWS, or calling 423-585-6922.