Soldiers in snow receiving food rations.

VOM – March 2015

Andrew “Andy” Wiley Dunavant (14 Oct 1924 – 16 Jun 2023)US Army, WWII, 1943-1946 March Veteran of the MonthBy Sherri Onorati, Special to The Leader Andrew Wiley Dunavant, a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, was honored last week as the Veteran of the Month for

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Engraved name on memorial wall, World War II.

George Anderson Pinner

1LT GEORGE ANDERSON PINNER, USAAF (10 Sept 1915 – 16 Apr 1943) George Anderson Pinner was born on Sept. 10, 1915, in Portageville, Missouri, to Virgil W. and Lucy Terrett Pinner. He was one of six children and the couple’s fourth son. The family moved to Tipton County about 1917,

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Battleship with camouflage on calm waters.

Alfred Naifeh

Alfred Naifeh was born on January 5, 1915 in Tipton County, Tenn., to Nicholas Naifeh (1878-1922) and Riatha Naifeh (1884-1970), Syrian immigrants. The middle child of seven, Naifeh was a graduate of Byars-Hall High School and attended the University of Oklahoma in 1937 with a BA and in 1940 with

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Three men in historical military uniforms.

Reunion at Brighton was a Magnificent Success

As printed in The Commercial Appeal, July 27, 1894 Veterans Greeted Each Other Assemblage was the largest yet had since the organization of the association – speeches made by men who were in the thickest of the fray The twentieth annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans of West Tennessee was

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American flag

OLUNE WAKEFIELD

OLUNE WAKEFIELD Written by grandson David Eaton Olune Wakefield, born on March 17, 1930, to Bob and Gertrude Wakefield in the small town of Drummonds, Tennessee, grew up with dreams of a simple life. Little did he know that destiny had other plans in store for him, ones that would

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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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Winford T. Hadley

Pvt. Winford Thelton Hadley, ser #44020062, was born on May 1, 1926, to Warner Menefee Hadley (1901-1983) and Mabel Edith Warnes Hadley (1908-1989) of Garland. A graduate of Byars-Hall High School in Covington, he entered the Army on August 18, 1944, after graduation, and was sent to Camp Forrest, Tennessee

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

James Alan Wilks

Specialist Four (SP4) James Alan Wilks (10 Jul 1948-27 Oct 1969) was drafted into the United States Army in October 1968, just a few short months after graduating from Frazier High School in Covington. The son of Ruben H. (1912-2005) and Laura N. Wilks (1930-2016) of Covington, SP4 Wilks began

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Memorial certificate for James O. Burgess.

James Osgood Burgess (1921-1944)

Born Jan. 7, 1921, in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia, James Osgood Burgess was the second son and youngest child of Osgood Miller Burgess (1895-1967) and Bessie May Stovall (1891-1983). Older siblings included John Stovall Burgess (1918-1992) and sister, Janie Elizabeth Burgess (1916-2011). James, his mother and brother, moved to Munford

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White gravestone with engraved text on grass.

Jesse G. Hunt (1895-1918)

Corporal Jesse G. Hunt was born May 1895 to Willis Nathaniel Hunt and Annie Blond Strange in the Gift area of Tipton County, Tenn., the third of their four children. Jesse lost his mother at the tender age of 10, when his mother Annie died on Jun 30, 1906 after

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