Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 141, No. 14 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 - $1.00
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Brothers D.L. “Deke” and Harold Stone both served terms
as mayor of Waynesboro in the 1940s and 50s.
Deke’s youngest son Paul also served as mayor in the 1970s
and was Adjutant General of the Georgia Air National Guard
under two governors. Paul’s son Jesse served as mayor, state
senator and is now a Superior Court Judge. So, public service
runs in the family.
Deke’s oldest son, Roy, graduated from the Citadel and
served as commanding officer of the Augusta Arsenal dur
ing World War II. He was tragically killed in an automobile
accident in 1960.
The following letter is from middle son William T. Stone,
who saw brutal combat from the war. A summary of his
experience is found elsewhere in this edition in an article by
his nephew and namesake, Bill Stone Hargrove.
After the war, Bill Stone returned home and began a long
career in farming and ranching, finding time to serve a stint
as chairman of the Burke County Board of Education.
What follows is a letter home to his younger brother Paul.
November 2,1943
Dearest Paul,
Please forgive me for not writing to you any sooner, but
honestly, I have been awfully busy. I have received three
letters from you since I last wrote and I appreciated and
OUOJts
enjoyed them more than you will ever know. I got the Oct.
19th letter yesterday. It’s so good of you to keep on writing,
even though you aren’t receiving letters from me. I don’t know
whether I’ve written to you since I came out of combat or not,
but I think that I did. I hope so anyway.
Paul this combat business is really awful, and I hope with
all my heart that you and Bubber never have to see any of
it. It can wear you down so very much in such a short time.
You never will know exhaustion and what it really is if you
never see action.
I read an article in a magazine before we came over here
on “What the Soldier in Combat goes Through”. It really
was every bit the truth. You get so exhausted till honestly it
doesn’t make much difference whether you’re shot or not.
I was in the first wave on the invasion and it was plenty
tough. I wish that I had time to tell you about those first
twelve days, but I would write a book on them so I won’t
attempt to try.
Paul the Germans knew exactly when and where we
were going to land and the people say that they had even
rehearsed what they were going to do when we did land.
They knew the exact beach, so you can imagine what we
faced going in in those landing crafts. We were on the
water in them for four hours after we left our transport
and when we were about 500 yards off shore all hell
broke loose. We really sweated it out for the rest of
the way in. LETTER,
When my boat was about 100 yards out an 88 hit 9A
SEE
Maj. William T. Stone
Residents line up for food paid for by Gough Town Posse, a group of men trying to bring a sense of community to the area.
Giving back to Gough
SHELLIE SMITLEY • thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
A group of men, native to Gough, are trying to bring
back a sense of community to the often-overlooked area of
Burke County.
Calling themselves the Gough Town Posse (GTP), the
men ranging in age from mid-30’s to late-50s, hosted the
GTP Day Block Party May 22, paying for everything out
of their own pockets. They cooked ribs, chicken and pigs’
feet on the grill. Some residents purchased t-shirts com
memorating the event.
People arrived in cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.
Children played in the park while adults mingled. GTP hired
a DJ for the event.
“We are giving back to the community,” An
tonio Jenkins said. “We want to give back to the SEE
place where we grew up.” GOUGH,
Antonio said the group hoped to bring a good 12A
J.P. assists Eric Jenkins in putting ribs on the grill during
the community event at the park in Gough Community.
Friends, family and school staff gathered for a balloon release
on Friday to honor and remember Martice Council.
Middle-schooler dies
in drowning incident
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A middle-schooler was the
victim in a drowning incident
on Thursday.
Martice Council, 15, a sev
enth grade student at Burke
County Middle School, was
swimming and playing on a
rope swing with friends at the
Briar Creek Bridge Landing
in Sardis when things quickly
turned tragic. According to a
press release from the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office,
Council began struggling in
the water and other teens
on the scene were unable to
render help.
Deputies responded just
before 6 p.m. and requested
assistance from investigators,
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources and the
Richmond County Emergen
cy Management Agency Dive
Team. At 8:50 p .m., members
of the dive team recovered
Council’s body.
The press release said no
foul play is suspected.
On Friday, the last day of
school, a balloon release was
held in Council’s honor.
“We are deeply saddened
by the sudden death of our
beloved student,” BCPS Su
perintendent Dr. Angela Wil
liams said. “Our heartfelt
sympathy and prayers go
out to the family, friends and
loved ones as well as to the
classmates and employees.
We appreciate the outpouring
of support from our school
counselors and
community
clergy who
were onsite
SEE
DROWNING
7A
MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
The American Legion Post 120 will hold its annual Memo
rial Day service Monday, May 31, at 11 a.m. at the Legion
Home, 222 South Liberty St. in Waynesboro. The public is
invited to attend this outdoor tribute to our fallen members
of the military.
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