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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Holmes N. Thompson (1894-1991)
Holmes Napoleon Thompson was born Feb. 2, 1894 in Mason, Tipton County, Tenn., the son of William Thompson and Martha Adams and the oldest boy of six siblings. Federal census report that he completed four years of high school and could read and write, which at that time was quite
After WWII, Tipton County’s Black veterans founded their own American Legion post
By Sherri Onorati – published in the Covington Leader, November 11, 2020 The soldiers who came home after World War I were tired, and 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
James Kirby Smith
Pvt. James Kirby Smith was born in Brighton, Tipton County, TN to Robert Lee Smith and Frances Ida Huffman Smith on Sept. 11, 1895. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 28, 1918, under service number 3501627. He was 22 years old when he enlisted, 5′ 9 1/2″ tall,