CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City of Clarksville held its third annual Gold Star Holiday Tree Ceremony on Sunday at City Hall.

The ceremony honors the men and women who have died in the service of the nation, along their families.

An ornament from a Gold Star family member on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
The Gold Star Holiday Tree ceremony at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
A Gold Star family member prepares to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts speaks to Gold Star Families at the Gold Star Holiday Tree ceremony at Clarksville City Hall to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Clarksville First Lady Cynthia Pitts speaks to Gold Star Families at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Gold Star family members prepare to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
The National Anthem is sung at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Gold Star Holiday tree ceremony at Clarksville City Hall to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Fort Campbell Garrison Commander, Colonel Andrew Jordan, speaks to Gold Star families at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Gold Star family members prepare to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Band perform at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Gold Star family members prepare to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
A Gold Star family member prepare to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
Gold Star family members prepare to place an ornament on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
A Gold Star is placed on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
The Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)
A Gold Star is placed on the Gold Star Holiday Tree at Clarksville City Hall during a ceremony to honor Gold Star families and pay tribute to their fallen loved ones, on Dec,5, 2021. (Lee Erwin)

First Lady Cynthia Pitts began Clarksville’s Gold Star Tree tradition in 2019, with the support of Fort Campbell. Pitts read a poem and offered a prayer for the Gold Star family members.

More than 45 ornaments were placed on the tree by family members, with more to be placed by city employees. Each ornament reads “We Honor and Remember,” along with the name of the service member. Each family received a gift from the city and were given the opportunity to write a personal message on the back of the ornament before hanging it on the tree.

“The relationship that Fort Campbell and our Gold Star surviving families have with Clarksville and this region is just tremendous, and I can’t say it enough that this truly is home,” Fort Campbell Garrison Commander Col. Andrew Jordan said. “They stay here for the love and connection they feel for this community.”