For most military families, Memorial Day is a holiday marked by quiet moments of reflection, but for widows like Ashley Southard, Memorial Day is every day.
Southard lost her husband, U.S. Army Sergeant Andrew “Andy” Southard, on November 10, 2023, during a routine air refueling mission with Special Forces Unit 160th SOAR in the Mediterranean Sea. He was 27.
Each year, SGT Southard is honored at the Fort Campbell Boots Display Memorial, a powerful visual memorial for those who paid the ultimate price – but a new base policy intends to halt the somber display altogether.
“After a decade of standing as a powerful testament of sacrifice and selflessness, the Fort Campbell Boots Display Memorial will conclude after its final scheduled display May 19-26, 2025. The intent is to transition to the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument on post, where Families can reflect and heal, year-round and at a time of their choosing,” a Facebook post announcement read. “We hope you will join us here to celebrate the memory of each servicemember represented and honor their sacrifice. The military family and community are unlike any other. It is a community filled with resilience and resolve. While the Boots Display will conclude after this year, its significance will endure beyond this farewell as we carry forward the spirit of the memorial in new ways.”
Southard took to social media to voice her digust.
“There will always be a boot display for him here. MG Brett Sylvia, I hope your hotdogs taste like shit and you get a sunburn this weekend,” Southard captioned the now-viral video which has amassed more than two million views. Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia is the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell.
More than 1,600 users weighed in on the video in the comments.
“This Fort Campbell fam is hugging you guys tight, mama. We owe him, and every one, everything (IMO, boots need to be placed on Brett Sylvia’s front lawn. Let him get a good look at what he’s doing. What a disgrace.)” one user wrote accompanied by an American flag and broken heart emoji. Another added, “This was a straight gut punch to the feels. Thank you for being strong enough to share his memory.”
Southard told We Are The Mighty, “For everyone who thinks the Gold Star monument is enough to replace the boot display, I challenge you to go to that monument and try to recall thousands of soldiers’ names. The boots represent the individualism of their sacrifices. Nowhere else could you see names, pictures, death dates and the personal touches that each family adds to their service member’s boot.
If we needed to ‘move away’ from the GWOT this could have easily been transitioned to a Ft. Campbell memorial, a 101st memorial, or a fundraising-based memorial. The swiftness and thoughtless manner in which this decision was made tells me everything I need to know about the character of the man who made it. And I stand by my statement, erasing legacies will forever be MG Brett Sylvia’s legacy.”
At time of publication, We Are The Mighty did not receive a response to our request for comment from Fort Campbell.