The City of Florence and Florence Christian Church will place 22 dog tags on a tree each morning for 11 days to honor veterans who have died by suicide.
The Witness Tree ceremony runs Sunday, Nov. 1, through Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 8 a.m. daily at the Boone County Veterans Memorial, 8100 Ewing Blvd., on the Florence Government Center campus. Each ceremony lasts about 15 minutes. Attendance is free.
Organizers say the 22 dog tags placed each day represent an estimate of daily veteran suicide deaths used by the program. More recent Department of Veterans Affairs data show that an average of 17.7 veterans died by suicide each day in 2024, the latest year available. Ceremonies include readings, meditative thought and reflection. By the final day, 242 dog tags will hang on the tree.
Visitors are invited to attend and hang military dog tags on the designated tree. The event listing describes the program as an effort to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health in the veteran community.
The event, which began in Florence in 2022, was piloted in Pennsylvania before spreading to other states, WCPO reported at the time. In that first year, Victoria Wells, then the city's community services coordinator, said attendees could write messages or names of veterans on blank dog tags before hanging them.
In Link NKY's November 2023 coverage, Florence Christian Church lead minister Rev. Susan Ward Diamond said "This is the beginning of the Witness Tree, where members of our community come together to be reminded of our veterans, the great sacrifices they have made, as well as their need for support."
Tina Benjamin is the event contact and can be reached at (859) 647-5425 or [email protected].
Upcoming
- Witness Tree ceremony: 8 a.m. daily, Nov. 1–11, Boone County Veterans Memorial, 8100 Ewing Blvd., Florence. Free.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
