"July 16th, 2015, 10:45 am. A vicious, senseless attack. Five service members dead. More wounded. A City and its people stunned.

Pulled by an invisible force, we came. At first, only a few. Then dozens. Then hundreds. Then thousands. Flowers, flags, children’s drawings, tear-stained toys with messages of thanks and love.

We did not riot. We prayed. We did not lash out at easy targets for revenge. Instead, we invited each other into our lives, homes and places of worship.

Together, a City and its people proved that all the gunshots in the world cannot sever the strength of our roots. Steady as the mountains around us. As deep as the river running through us.

This memorial is for those who died that day – the “Chattanooga Five” – and for all of us who responded to the unthinkable with the unbreakable."

- Jeff Styles