VOM – August 2015

Larry Wayne Purvis US Marine Corps, Vietnam, 1970-1978 Munford resident honored as veteran of the month By Sherri Onorati Vietnam-era veteran and Munford resident Larry Wayne Purvis was honored on Tuesday evening as the August Veteran of the Month at a reception held in his honor at the Tipton County

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Soldiers marching through a barren wartime landscape.

VOM – November 2015

Leroy Kitchens (Aug. 12, 1925-Sept. 10, 2015) US Marine Corps, WWII Leroy Kitchens was born August 12, 1925, in Covington, Tennessee. He grew up in the Garland area and enlisted in the U.S. Marines on October 29, 1943, in Nashville. The allied invasion of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands

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VOM – April 2015

Robert Jacob “Jake” Spradley US Marine Corps, Iraq 2001-2007 April Veteran of the Month By Sherri Onorati, Special to The Leader War is never easy, and for those brave souls who have survived battle, know all to well that the passage of time does little to ease a tormented soul

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Gone but not forgotten: Remembering those whose lives were lost in Vietnam

By Sherri Onorati for The Leader on May 22, 2014 EDIT: 3/29/2025 – I just realized I left off a few names when this article was originally written. I have included them in this posting, which, unfortunately, brings Tipton County’s total count to 16 Tipton Countians killed during the Vietnam War. Two

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Yellow patch with star and feathered head.

A Devil Dog in Europe

Sergeant Mac Pope (2 Jan 1895 – 3 Oct 1976) was born in Rutherford, Gibson, Tenn., to Louis W. Pope and Rachael Elizabeth “Della” Spenser. He moved to Munford, Tipton County sometime between 1910 and 1917 and worked as a lineman and commercial agent for the Telephone & Telegraph Company

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A picture of an American flag with soldiers and the Statue of Liberty superimposed on top of the flag

Rufus S. McKee

Another victim of the taking of Iwo Jima was Marine Corporal Rufus Scot McKee (1920-1945), Ser # 334415, who was killed in action on Feb. 25, 1945, in Iwo Jima, Ogasawara-shichō, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, as a member of Co. K, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division. Rufus Scot McKee was born

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Gone but not forgotten: Remembering those whose lives were lost in Vietnam

By Sherri Onorati, The Covington Leader,  May 22, 2014 Two veterans mourn fallen soldiers at the Celebration of Service and Sacrifice event’s traveling Vietnam Memorial in October 2013. Nearly a dozen Tipton Countians were killed in action during Vietnam. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, the day we honor

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Remembering Tipton County’s fallen servicemembers on Memorial Day

By Echo Day, The Leader, May 29, 2023 Tipton County Veterans Memorial/Tipton County Museum Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died in service to the country. The following men from Tipton County died while serving the country during wartime. A memorial commemorating their sacrifice is at

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Marlin O. Dixon

Marlin O. Dixon served in the U.S. Marines from September 1943 until December 1945. No other information available

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After WWII, Tipton County’s Black veterans founded their own American Legion post

Published in The Leader By Sherri Onorati November 11, 2020 The soldiers who came home after World War I were tired, traumatized and many felt out-of-place given what they had been through – even in their hometowns – places which should have been welcoming and familiar. A small group of

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