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Vol. 140, No. 38 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, November 11,2020 - $1.00
Joshua DuMars enlisted in the USMC on Sept. 9, 2005 Joshua Bradham enlisted in the USMC on June 6, 2006
Local young men recall military service
COMPILED BY
DIANA ROYAL
Veteran — a person who has served in the military force,
especially one who has fought in a war.
For many, the word veteran is synonymous with age; folks
forget, or don’t want to fathom the thought of teenagers out
on a battlefield. Yet, they are there on the frontlines, as they
always have been, fighting for a country that doesn’t always
fight for or understand them.
This is their story.
Two young men, both named Joshua, both from Burke
County, both signed the dotted line to join the United States
Marine Corps at the age of 18, both veterans by 22. Now
husbands and fathers, they look back over their time served
as the USMC celebrates its 245th birthday and America
observes Veterans Day.
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MARINE
CORPS?
JOSHUA DUMARS: At the time, I wanted to make a
difference. I saw what happened to the World Trade Towers.
I wanted to play baseball, but I figured I could just put that
on the back burner. I really did want to make a difference,
but it made a big difference in me.
JOSHUA BRADHAM: It was something I wanted to do
since I was young. I wanted to do something with myself and
give something back to my country.
WHAT WERE THOSE FIRST FEW NIGHTS IN BASIC
TRAINING LIKE?
BRADHAM: The first few nights of boot camp were very
hectic. It was a surge of all kinds of emotions at one time,
but it was something new and very exciting.
DUMARS: Pretty surreal. I realized I didn’t have any
control, like, “Oh man! You’re in this now. This is what we’re
gonna do.” It wasn’t scary but definitely different.
WHAT IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON YOU PICKED UP
DURING BOOTCAMP?
BRADHAM: The most important thing I learned in
bootcamp was that you can go further than what your mind
thinks it can. Learning to push through your barriers is a very
important thing to learn when becoming a Marine.
DUMARS: Loyalty. Be true to who you are. Don’t ever
let anyone down.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOS (MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL
SPECIALTY) UPON GRADUATION?
DUMARS: I worked in convoy operations and trained in
both North Carolina and Missouri before deploying with a
Victor Unit to Iraq.
BRADHAM: I was an Infantry Machine Gunner stationed
with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion for my first
few years and later transferred to 2nd Battalion 8th Marine
Regiment.
WHEN DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WOULD BE DEPLOYED
AND WHAT WAS THAT MOMENT LIKE?
BRADHAM: (Afghanistan, six months) There was a little
bit of fear of the unknown, but I was mostly thrilled at the
chance to put years of training to use. I and everyone I was
with was very excited to be deploying. Looking back now,
that was due to being young, “tougher than nails” mentality
and having no idea of what the reality of combat was yet.
DUMARS: I knew I’d be going within six months of
graduation. It wound up being five months. I knew it and it’s
what I wanted. My first deployment was to Fallujah for eight
months. When I got home, I went straight back to training
and straight back overseas to Iraq three months later.
SEE VETERANS, 2A
Biden declared
winner in
historic election
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
On Saturday, Joe Biden was
declared the 46th President of
the United States of America,
following several days of
anticipation while vote
counting continued. Biden
won both the electoral college
(290-214) and popular vote;
his 76,405,737 votes (50.8
percent) broke the record
for the most ever cast for
a presidential candidate.
Incumbent Donald Trump
received 47.5 percent
(71,494,613 votes). In
addition to Biden’s record
breaking results, his running
mate and current vice-
president elect Kamala Harris
will be the first female, the
first African American, the
first Asian American and the
first Caribbean American to
hold the post in the history of
the United States.
Burke County, however,
did not overall support a
Biden/Harris ticket. Of the
total votes cast, 5,399 were in
support of Trump; 5,206 for
Biden; and 75 for Libertarian
Jo Jorgensen.
Several local races were
also determined during the
general election.
Republican incumbent
Rick W. Allen held on to his
seat as the representative for
House District 12, with Burke
County voters favoring him
5,472 to 4,956 over Democrat
Liz Johnson. Max Burns,
a Republican, also won his
bid for State Senate District
23, beating out Democratic
opponent Ceretta Smith with
5,378 votes to her 5,075 in
Burke County.
Though Republican
incumbent District Attorney
for the Augusta Judicial
Circuit Natalie Paine was
favored in Burke County (she
had 5,481 votes compared
to the 4,984 cast for Jared
Williams), her opponent
got the support from other
counties to take the win.
Ashley Moore Jr., a
Democrat, upset Republican
incumbent Rex Myers for the
probate court judgeship by 17
votes (5,231 to 5,214).
Radeta Smith, the
Democratic incumbent Clerk
of Superior Court, held on to
her post with 5,765 votes. Her
opponent, Republican Karen
Ellison, garnered 4,682 votes.
In the race for chief
magistrate, Cynthia Kelley
came out on top with 1,964
votes. Her challengers,
incumbent Andrew Palmer
and Portia Washington,
had 1,842 and 82 votes,
respectively.
Both incumbent county
commissioners held on to
their seats, with Democrat
Lucious Abrams earning 1,235
District 1 votes compared
to challenger Republican
Rodney Braswell’s 890, and
Republican Evans Martin
maintaining District 3 with
1,427 votes to Democratic
challenger George
Wimberly’s 790.
Of Burke County’s 16,556
registered voters, 10,754
participated in the election,
2,545 by mail, 4,723 early,
in-person and 3,486 at the
polls on election day for a
total of 64.96 percent. The 16
precincts across the county
also saw a larger turnout than
previous elections, with no
less that 55 percent showing
up. Keysville had the lowest
turnout with 55.67 percent
while St. Clair had the largest
percentage (71.72) of its
voters show up.
There will be a runoff
for the Public Commission
Service District 1 seat on
Dec. 1 between Republican
incumbent Lauren Bubba
McDonald Jr. and Democrat
Daniel Blackman. For
information on the Senate
runoffs, see related story on
page 3A.
Visit sosga.gov for full
election results for the county
and state.
Events rescheduled due to inclement weather
DIANA ROYAL
dianaroyal@gmail.com
Two major events planned
'or tomorrow (Thursday, Nov.
12) have been rescheduled
is Burke County expects
Topical storm weather to pass
hrough this week.
Edmund Burke Academy’s
innual Veterans Day program
ras been moved to next
Monday, Nov. 16, at 9:30 a .m.
The special program will be
held on Rogers Field in order
to allow for social distancing.
Veterans are invited; they will
be seated on the football held.
During the program, there will
also be a display showcasing
veterans to show the school’s
love and appreciation.
The Masters Night Out
fundraiser slated for Thursday
evening has also been
rescheduled for April 8,2021.
Downtown Development
Director Don Lively said the
board decided to postpone the
event due to the likelihood of
bad weather, and that it will
now coincidence with next
years Masters Tournament in
Augusta.
“We are in the process
of contacting sponsors,” he
said. “Those sponsorships
will be used to fund the event
in April, and we are greatly
appreciative of each one who
has supported us.” He added
that folks should follow the
DDA’s page for continued
updates about the event as
well as other downtown
activities.
COVID CORNER
This week, the Georgia Department of Public Health
showed a total of 376,054 confirmed COVID-19 cases for
the entire state as of Tuesday afternoon, including 8,264
deaths and 32,631 hospitalizations. On Tuesday, 2,012
newly confirmed cases were reported as well as 43 deaths.
Locally, according to the B. Lamar Murray Public
Health Center, Burke County has reached a total of 927
confirmed positives, up 23 from last Tuesday. No new
local deaths have been reported; that number remains at
10 and the numbers of total hospitalizations also remains
the same at 92.
706-554-2114 www.mizellford.com Waynesboro, Ga.