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Page 10B - The Wireqrass Farmer, November 8, 2017
Quilts of Valor presented to veterans
Jimmy Lee and his quilt.
Ray Eric Black Jacob Todd
Black
Bennie Gandy Michael
Leonard Wade
Russell
Pankievich
Arthur Lee
Wilkerson
Willie C. Coley
Jr.
SFC Clifton
Love
Andrea Pierce
VETERANS
Thank you for
your faithful
service!
Honoring
veterans past,
present and
future with
respect, honor
and gratitude!
Katz Veterinary Services LLC
Alec J. Katz, DVM
126 N. Gordon St., Ashburn • 567-4793
Large and small animal medicine
Open M-F 8-5:30. Closed for lunch 12-1
Sheila Hobbs of Ashburn
presented two Quilts of Valor
during the month of October.
The quilts were a joint effort
between Sheila and an online
group, Quilt of Valor Stars.
Sheila, who helped piece
the quilt tops and did the bind
ing, presented them to two
older members of her church.
One was presented to Mr.
Jimmy Lee of Sycamore, who
served in the United States Air
Force from April 1955 until
March 1959. His rank was
Airman Second Class (A2C)
and he was a radar technician
on fighter planes. He was sta
tioned in Germany for three
years. Mr. Lee has battled can
cer on more than one occasion
and gives God the glory for his
victory throughout his ordeal.
He is such a kind gentleman
with a sweet spirit and gener
ous nature. His Christian lead
ership and example has passed
on to his children and grand
children throughout the years.
Just recently one of his grand
sons was instrumental in help
ing rescue two men from a
burning automobile after a
wreck near his school. Mr.
Lee, his wife, Brenda, daughter
Michelle, and her family are
faithful members of First Bap
tist Church of Ashburn.
The other quilt was pre
sented to Mr. Wayne Blue, also
of Sycamore, who served in
the United States Army Na
tional Guard for several years.
Like Mr. Lee, Mr. Blue is such
a generous man, giving of his
time and his resources. Mr.
Blue has worked tirelessly
with the Arts Council for nu
merous years and with various
community events and contin
ues to serve his community
even with failing health. As I
was visiting him to make the
quilt presentation he was still
working with a fellow commu
nity member to help with the
Christmas parade for our town.
Also a member of First Baptist
Church, he has been an instru
mental part of the church for
many years.
Both of these gentlemen
were very appreciative of their
gift of recognition and for the
generosity of everyone in
volved, and Sheila was com
pletely humbled to be able to
present these Quilts of Valor.
Sheila, a part of the Ashburn
Sit & Sew Group, is a member
of the Wiregrass Quilters'
Guild and the Quilt of Valor
Foundation.
Wayne Blue and his quilt.
Charlie Edge - WWII veteran
Charlie Edge was drafted into the Army and served as a long
shore man and then in the 614th Tank Destroyer Batallion in
WWII when he got to Germany. He left the service Oct. 29,1946.
He served for 15 months. He is 90 and soon to be 91.
A history of the unit shows it fought in northern France, the
Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. The timeline
for the unit and Mr. Edge’s time in the Army show he joined it
after the unit moved from northern France. The company was
nicknamed “Three Inch Fury.” At the time, the troops were seg
regated.
A book “614 Tank Destroyers WWII” is now out of print. It
chronicles the unit.
Did he destroy any tanks? “I
don’t remember shooting at a
tank. We shot at everything we
could,” he said. He was shot at
by the Germans.
“It was dangerous. I crawled
under gunfire and I had to shoot
through smoke,” he said. “I
went through so much. I can’t
remember it all.”
He served in Germany and
France for 15 months.
“It was a mess. The Good
Lord took me through. God kept
me here, kept me through it all.
It was rough. I made it.”
GETTING READY
It was not just fighting.
“We busted a route with ham
mer and chisels. The infantry
had to bust rocks,” he said, with
out knowing why. “You just had
to work. That got you ready for
the fight.
“We had to put on a pack and
go up the Jesse James Trail. I
made it to the top but some fell
out on the way,” he said. At the
top, he sat on his pack. This was
in Texas and was part of their
training. He remembers finding WWII veteran Charlie Edge at home,
wild ripe persimmons and eating all he could reach.
Mr. Edge carried an Ml, a standard issue rifle for the troops
at the time. “I shot the thing until I didn’t want to pick it up. At
500 yards, some people could punch a hole wherever you
wanted,” he said.
One of the worst parts was being in foxholes. He speaks of
“running up on a snake and throwing it out of the hole.”
“That was the worst sleeping, in a foxhole. Then you had to
get up with a full field pack, 60 pounds, and carry it up that hill,
straight up. A mile and a half up. We had to walk it.
“I couldn’t think of nothing but going home. Get back to those
girls.”
He did return home and raised four girls and two boys. He
lives with daughter Lenora in a house his surviving son bought.
THE RIDE OVER
Heading from the States to Europe was a challenge for this
South Georgia native. “People were eating and the ship rocking.
My brother told me “you got to eat or you will be seasick and
they will throw you overboard.” Mr. Edge’s brother Wallace,
now deceased, also served in the military.
IN EUROPE
Once in Europe, things got
even worse. He remembers find
ing a washtub so he could bathe.
“I took a bath in anything I
could find,” he said.
What passed for bathrooms
were found in the concentration
camps the Allied troops took
over. The seats “had barbed
wire” on them. “You had to sit
over it and drop it in,” he said.
They fought wherever they
were sent, including the moun
tains as outlined in the book.
IN GERMANY
Some people deny the Holo
caust happened. Mr. Edge saw
what happened.
“It was pretty rough. They
showed you where they killed
all the people and stacked them
like cordwood. They done that
to their own people. What do
you think they’d do to you?” he
said.
The fighting was “scary. I
was scared, but I had to go,” he
said.
They also slept in foxholes
again, which he again described
as the worst. “You put your foot
on the bank and laid down. Bullets flying over our head,” he said.
“We had a tin mess kit and the weather was so cold. I couldn’t
pick up food with my hands. I had to put it to my mouth and bite
it.”
WORTH IT
After all these years, was the war worth it? Mr. Edge is non
committal about that question.
“It was something we had to do. We went through things we
had to go through,” he said. Again, he talked about throwing a
snake out of his foxhole.
Vietnam veterans to be honored at ceremony Friday
by Mike Geoghagan
The American Legion Post
98 is joining with the Turner
County JROTC detachment
and the Georgia Department of
Veterans Services to honor
Vietnam Era veterans with the
award of a State of Georgia
certificate.
Every Georgia veteran with
honorable service during the
Vietnam War is eligible to re
ceive this certificate (This in
cludes veterans with service
in country and those who
served in other capacities
around the world).
Each certificate
is personalized
with the Viet
nam War vet
eran’s name, rank,
4
VIETNAM
I
VETERAN
branch of service, and dates of
service printed over the Seal of
the State of Georgia and in
cludes the official U.S. Depart
ment of Defense’s
Vietnam War
Commemora
tive Partner
logo under the
signatures of
Governor Deal and
I.
GDVS Commissioner Mike
Roby. The eligibility dates are
from 1 June 1954 until 15 May
1975.
The ceremony is scheduled
in conjunction with the annual
JROTC Veterans Day cere
mony which takes place at 9
A.M. on November 10th at the
Turner County Civic Center.