Domtar unveils new Veterans Wall at ceremony

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Domtar Kingsport Mill honored those who have served their county in a special ceremony Friday and unveiled a new Veterans Wall.

Domtar hopes the wall will serve as a tribute to its employees who served or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

"Our thought here was we recognize our veterans yearly, but with this wall, as we walk in the halls of this complex, as we come to work each day, it will be a reminder to us that the employees that work here are currently in the service or had worked in the service," Domtar Kingsport General Manager Troy Wilson said. "The sacrifices they gave for our freedoms."

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The wall features photos of Domtar's veterans, along with their names and branches of service.

"Our vision with the wall would be to, as we hire more veterans, their pictures go on the wall, and we would honor our veterans that way," Wilson said. "But also the veterans that retire, their pictures will stay as a reminder to us that they were an employee at Domtar here, and they were a veteran that worked in this facility. We don't want them to be [taken] down after they retire."

Prior to unveiling the wall, Domtar held a Veteran's Day ceremony at the facility. A flag ceremony took place with speakers, and a missing man table ceremony was also held.

After dedicating the Veterans Wall to Domtar veterans, the company presented a $500 check to Honor Flight of the Appalachian Highlands, a nonprofit that takes veterans on an expense-paid trip to Washington D.C.

"It says a lot about the people that work here at Domtar," Wilson said. "We support our veterans, and as we hire employees to veterans and you've served in the military, it means a lot to this company that you've gone down that path to start your career in the military."

Domtar provided food for their veterans and their families after the formalities.