Lebanese songwriter stokes fire for 4 days in tribute to lost and forgotten veterans

Lina PortmanMay 26, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Kees has written for George Strait, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney and others.

Burning a fire for 96 hours straight the weekend before Memorial Day is a quiet tradition for a longtime Lebanese songwriter and musician.

Donny Kees, 76, has written songs for George Strait, Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney and Tanya Tucker.

Kees is also an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, which is just as important to him.

Today, for the 12th year, Kees lit a modest fire in the fireplace of a gazebo located behind a side drive of his home in the Fairways neighborhood near the Lebanon Golf and Country Club. It is a tacit, unknown and unwritten ode.

“I don’t know anyone who went to Vietnam and came back and was the same as when they left,” Kees said in a low voice.

The fire burns day and night until about 6 p.m. on Memorial Day. Kees lights the fire in honor of all veterans, especially those who died in the line of duty. And it holds a special place for soldiers who served in Vietnam.

“It's to honor the veterans who never got to come home and the veterans who came home but weren't welcome, and I was one of them,” said Kees, who continues to suffer from health problems due to his stay in Vietnam.

Kees retired as a full-time songwriter in 2013, but he still picks up the pen from time to time.

Memorial Day weekend in Tennessee often includes rain and even showers. If it rains hard enough, Kees will put embers and ashes in a bucket and take shelter in the garage or under an umbrella or gazebo to continue.

Kees takes only naps during the four days with the help of his wife, Diana, to keep the fire going that “means so much to him and a lot of other people,” Diana said.

At 6 p.m. on Memorial Day, Kees is tired. But “it’s good fatigue”.

“He’s a donor,” said retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Wilson, a close friend of Kees. “He includes others. He does it for sincere reasons.”

The picture the fire portrays is “lots of munitions flying and fires everywhere,” Kees said of his time in Vietnam. The fire is visible from the front of the house with patriotic banners on a door and American flags also flying. Some neighbors will know of Kees' tribute and will pass by and wave or make contact.

“I’m very emotional,” said neighbor Patricia Fleming, whose late husband was a Vietnam veteran. “Donny is someone who knows the true meaning of Memorial Day. He does it for the right reason. Knowing that someone feels this way means a lot to me.

Contact Andy Humbles at [email protected] or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AndyHumbles.

Lina Portman

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