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Charles H. Barker |
The nation’s highest military honor has been awarded four times to
residents living near Pickens County (SC). Pickens County, in
fact, has more Medal of Honor recipients per capita than any other
county in the United States, local officials said.
The town of Six Mile plans to recognize recipients Charles Barker,
Furman Smith, Donnie Howe and, from nearby Liberty, William McWhorter at
Memorial Day celebrations May 27. At the ceremony, relatives of the
four men will be recognized, and a remembrance wreath will be laid at
the Memorial Marker at Six Mile Town Hall.
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Donnie Howe |
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Town Hall at 106 S. Main St. In case of rain, the event will moved indoors.
Six Mile Mayor Roy Stoddard said he became aware of the four Pickens
County men’s service at the town’s centennial celebration in 2010. The
32-year Navy veteran said the town had a monument to the servicemen, but
it was in an out-of-the-way location.
“We moved the monument to Town Hall, where it can be easily seen,” Stoddard said.
Stoddard said the four men served, separately, in World War II, Korea
and Vietnam.
Special invitations have been sent to living relations of the four
servicemen for the Memorial Day event, and many have accepted the
invitation, Stoddard said.
Maj. General Robert E. Livingston, the adjutant general of South
Carolina and an Afghanistan War veteran, is scheduled to speak at the
event.
Source: Six Mile to honor four Medal of Honor recipients on Memorial Day