Monument dedicated to honor the 79 Nelson Countians who died during WWII
The Rev. Terry Bradshaw, pastor of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, examines a photograph of the monument that names the 79 Nelson Countians who died in service to their country during World War II.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, May 25, 2017 –– Nelson County veterans and their families packed the Nelson Fiscal Court room Thursday morning for the dedication of the county’s World War II memorial.
The fiscal court meeting room was packed with visitors, including members of the local American Legion posts, elected officials, and family members of the men whose names are inscribed on the monument.
The memorial — designed to look like the Roman number “II” — is unique because it includes the names of the 79 Nelson Countians who died in service to their country between Dec. 7, 1941, and VJ Day, Saturday, Sept. 2, 1945.
“As we take this opportunity today to memorialize these men, let us remember their families and how they had to struggle with their great loss,” Judge Executive Dean Watts told the standing room only fiscal courtroom crowd.
The United States was officially a neutral nation during the first years of the war in Europe. That ended when the Japanese attacked Pearl Habor on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, and the U.S. entered the war.
“It is our duty as free citizens of these United States not to let these brave men be forgotten,” Watts said.
Watts said he regretted it took 72 years to get a memorial established. He credited Dr. Harry Spalding for his vision and persistence in making sure the monument became a reality. Watts also gave credit to Tom Ballard Jr. for his help with the design, Pat Spalding at the monument company, American Legion Post 121 for financial support of the project as well as the magistrates who supported the project as well.
Watts thanked the families of the men whose name are inscribed on the memorial. “You can rest assured your loved ones will never be forgotten.”
The Rev. Terry Bradshaw provided a blessing of the monument and called on those who see it to recall the sacrifices of those who gave their lives fighting to defend our country.
St. Joseph pastor Father Terry Bradshaw blessed the monument, and said he was familiar with the family names of many of those inscribed on the monument. However, one of the inscribed names he said he was very familiar with — that of Father Clarence Hagan.
“The reason I know him is because of (former St. Joseph pastor) Father Clarence Howard,” Bradshaw said. Hagan was Father Howard’s uncle and he spoke of his uncle and his service to his country.
“He remembered his uncle, and that’s one of the great gifts God gives us as humans. We can remember and hopefully learn and not forget the lessons of the past,” Bradshaw said.
Kim Huston, president of the county’s economic development agency, read the list of the monument’s inscribed names which included:
Guy Baldwin Jr; Miles Ballard; Leroy Barnett; Lucien Beam; Joseph K. Boone; Thomas A. Bowling; Billy S. Bowman; Emmett H. Brown; Guy M. Brown; Samuel Hayes Brown; Mike Burge; Henry Cecil; James Cheshire; John A. Clark; Joseph O. Clark; Charles Conley; William V. Conley; Dwayne Crepps; Francis Crepps; R. E. Crouch; Harry Curtsinger; Robert Douglas; Louis H. Drake; James L. Goben; Lovell Goff; Charles E. Greenwell; Fredrick Greenwell; Joseph Harold Greenwell; Walter Gritton; Father Clarence Hagan; Willis Hahn; Charles Foster Hardesty; Judson Hardin; Joseph Hardin; Paul O. Haydon; Marion T. Hickman; Howard Hicks; Charles D. Hood; James Jackson; John Jenkins; Shelby N. Jett; Joseph P. Jury; Harold Kirkland; Thomas Lamkin; George E. Larkin Jr.; Melwood Lutes; Virgil Leslie; Edwin C. Mattingly; John Mattingly; Eugene F. Mattingly; Benjamin H. McCawley; Roy Milby; John S. Moore Jr.; Marion Muir; Marvin Murphy; Charles I. Nalley; George O’Bryan; Joseph O’Bryan; Joseph O’Hara; Leonard Owens; Phillip D. Pash; Fredrick O. Peake; William Peake. James A. Porter; William Protsman; Archie Raymond; John R. Reynolds; William Robinson; William Scamahorne; Thomas Elbert Seay; Roland S. Shelburne; Willie Shields; James Simpson; Hillard Strader; William C. Terrill; William C. Waldridge; Anthony Whalen; Joseph F. Wimsett; and William M. Young.
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