‘Faces of Valor II’ debuts at public library on Saturday
The debut of the second volume of "Faces of Valor," honoring Montgomery County veterans, was celebrated at the Clarksville Downtown Kiwanis Club on Tuesday. Club president Tom Creech and Memories of Service and Sacrifice Committee member Ron Smithfield presented Jostens representatives Sherry Brame and Terry Cleveland with an award recognizing the company's contribution in making the project a reality. / THE LEAF-CHRONICLE/PHILIP GREY
Contributed by Phil Grey, The Leaf Chronicle
After a long wait and a lot of work, “Faces of Valor – Volume II” will finally became available to the public on Saturday during a special event at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. and will last until approximately 3 p.m.
The latest booklet — printed through the generosity of Jostens Printing and Publishing’s Clarksville facility — features pictures of 387 Montgomery County veterans, with information on each, spanning 150 years of history from the Civil War to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Families and veterans who contributed photos and information will receive a free copy of the booklet. All they will have to do is sign for a copy at a table that will be manned by representatives of the Kiwanis Memories of Service and Sacrifice Committee.
Additional copies will be available for veterans, families and members of the general public for a suggested donation of $10.
Copies will also be available for $10 through the Montgomery County Historical Society at the Clarksville Railroad Station, as well as at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Museum.
The booklet has some amazing and often surprising examples of Montgomery County’s rich military history, and each veteran portrayed has a connection to the area as a former resident.
Among the notables:
- Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Horace Lurton, who served as a sergeant major in the 5th Tennessee, Army of the Tennessee, Confederate States of America, during the Civil War.
- Carl Sory Smith, a Marine Corps veteran of World War I and a Leaf-Chronicle political cartoonist.
- Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., 10th Army Commander, killed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, who was the highest-ranking officer to be killed in action in World War II. Buckner’s father, Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr., was the Confederate general who surrendered Fort Donelson to Ulysses S. Grant in February 1862.
- Edgar Harrell, a Marine Corps veteran of World War II and one of the few remaining survivors of the infamous sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the ship that carried the atomic bomb components to Tinian Island.
- Frank Sutton, best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Vince Carter on the hit 60s show, “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” Sutton was also a U.S. Army veteran of the Pacific Theater in World War II, with 14 assault landings to his credit.
Also included in the booklet are listings of Montgomery County residents killed in action in WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
The Faces of Valor Project began as a display in honor of 244 Montgomery County veterans from the Revolutionary War to the present, permanently located inside the courthouse.
The first Faces of Valor booklet was printed as a guide to the veterans portrayed in the display.
