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thing unique for Jeff Davis County, but they wanted to see whatother counties were doing as well. They traveled all over thestate looking at monuments. After a short investigation, theyrealized they could honor all the veterans from the county, notjust the KIAs. They took pictures and walked and looked inBaxley, Hinesville, Alma and many other places. In Hinesvillethey saw an angled United States Seal that they liked, but it wasmuch too expensive. Back at home, they asked the monumentcompany about the possibility of cutting the design into a pieceof black granite which they could then imbed into the concretein front of the centerpiece. The concrete itself would be tintedfor more eye appeal. The veterans also would work on the pavingin front of the Wall of Honor site. As soon as they had aspecific design in mind, they had the lowest bidders, Wadis Davisand Scott Worth at Jeff Davis Monument Company, order blackgranite from China, one of the two places in the world that suppliesthis type of stone, and waited as patiently as possible forsix months for the granite to come in. Before long they had theseal cut in and imbedded just as they had envisioned.When the Jeff Davis Veterans’ Association first decided totake on this great project, it had no money, but great faith. Richardfelt an urgency to complete the project because the WorldWar II veterans were dying quickly. He wanted the remainingones to be honored in their lifetimes. The JDVA was willing toborrow money if necessary. When they ordered the monument,they had no money, but were confident that it was the right thingto do. The money would come.Through the course of the year, the group of veterans sold atotal of fifty-two sponsorships to individuals and businesses. Theveterans did much of the work themselves, and on MemorialDay, 2009, the monument stood shrouded under a parachute onthe courthouse lawn, ready for the unveiling ceremony.Emotion ran high in the county as the day approached. Speakerswere lined up. One lady begged for a preliminary peek asthe veterans were putting the finishing touches on the site theday before the unveiling. They raised the parachute cover justenough for her to see her brother’s name. Tears flowed unreservedlydown her face when she saw it.The monument moved many people in the community totears, especially the families of the honorees. The centerpiece,the Wall of Honor, is the heart of the whole thing. It begins withthe World War I KIAs and ends with the last war in which JeffDavis citizens died, the Vietnam War. A total of thirty-two namesembellish the wall. On the backside of the Wall of Honor arelisted ten Prisoners of War. One additional POW was added aslate as 2010. The Wall of Honor is a living memorial to JeffDavis County veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for thiscountry, but the rest of the monument honors all Jeff Davis veterans.Relatives who can afford it appreciate the opportunity torecognize their veterans by paying the $40 to have the namesinscribed.On the other parts of the monument, 925 other names of veteranshave been inscribed, and the monument is updated yearlyor as needed. Collecting the information was difficult and slow.16Mature Living Winter Edition
Every tidbit had to be verifiedfor accuracy. For example,Emery Anderson had a DistinguishedService Cross in WorldWar I, but he has no family leftin the county. The most decoratedveteran from Jeff DavisCounty was Dewey WilcoxJohnson. He won the DistinguishedFlying Cross with twooak leaf clusters as well as theBritish Distinguished FlyingCross. His wife and son wereat the unveiling and wereelated.This project pulled thecommunity together and elicitedtremendous enthusiasm,raising the community spirit.Families got more involvedand started to better understandwhat the veterans had sacrificed.Doris Stone, Richard’s wifeof 44 years, said, “I actuallyAS THE SUN SETS, A BEAUTIFUL ORANGE GLOW STRIKES THE WALL OF HONORAS THE JEFF DAVIS COURT HOUSE STANDS MAJESTIC IN THE BACKGROUND.Mature Living Winter Edition 17
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