HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Hedrick Rhodes VFW Post 5206 will honor all 11 of Henderson County’s World War II Missing in Action servicemembers during a Wall of Honor ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 22.
The Memorial Day weekend event will take place at Hedrick Rhodes Veterans Center at 900 N. Main St., Hendersonville.
As part of the ceremony, shadow boxes for each of the 11 MIAs will be added to the center’s Wall of Honor.
Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Gerry Lawton, a military historian and member of Post 5206, conducted extensive research to help determine the service awards each veteran earned. The shadow boxes were created based on this information and other historical records.
Those being honored are:
- Walter Brothers, U.S. Navy, Newfoundland, 1942
- Horace Gibbs, U.S. Army, Mediterranean Sea, 1943
- Thomas Harnett, Army Air Corps, Solomon Islands, 1944
- Charles Hedge, Army Air Corps, China, 1942
- Paul Hedrick, U.S. Navy, Pearl Harbor, 1941
- Noel Lowe, Army Air Corps, Papua, 1944
- Alvin McCarson, Army Air Corps, Tunisia, 1944
- Brack McCraw, Army Air Corps, Philippines, 1942
- Charles Smith, Army Air Corps, Italy, 1943
- Howard Thomas, U.S. Army, Philippines, 1942
- Roy William, U.S. Navy, Mediterranean Sea, 1944
More than 70,000 U.S. service members remain listed as missing in action since World War II. Among them are 11 from Henderson County, including two who survived the Bataan Death March but later died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Others were lost at sea or killed in aircraft crashes.
One of the missing, Paul Hedrick, died aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. VFW Post 5206 is co-named in his honor. Like all 11 missing from Henderson County, his remains have not been recovered.
The upcoming ceremony will be a rare and significant event, featuring full military honors.
For more information, contact Bob Johnson at 828-638-1955.