CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Goliad remembers WWI veterans killed in action

Victoria Advocate - 4/7/2017

April 07--GOLIAD -- As a child, Judy Lynn Turner probably walked by the World War I memorial in front of the Goliad County Courthouse about a hundred times.

She'd see the monument with 16 names of men listed who died serving their country but, at the time, didn't fully understand the significance.

Now 45, as president of the county's genealogical society, she knows what the monument represents.

Thursday morning, surrounded by fewer than two dozen residents, she led a WWI Centennial Commemorative event on the lawn next to that monument.

She was representing the Corpus Christi chapter of the Texas Daughters of the American Revolution.

Turner read 21 names of those killed in action or missing in action from the county and surrounding areas.

About halfway through reciting the names, tears formed in her eyes, but she kept reading.

She told the crowd she organized the ceremony to recognize those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for God, country and their community. Thursday was the 100th anniversary of U.S. involvement in World War I.

Goliad County's ceremony was also presented by the Texas World War I Centennial, which is part of the National World War I Centennial Commission.

Judge Pat Calhoun presented a proclamation and talked about the importance of honoring those lost during the Great War.

Afterward, he kneeled and explained to a group of children the importance of remembering those who fought for our freedom.

Annie Mae Bland, a deputy in the county clerk's office, said, "These people died for us. No matter when it was, it's very important because what they did back then still affects us now," she said.

Bill Bode, a pharmacist in Beeville, said he was glad to come to the ceremony for a moment to pay tribute to their sacrifices.

"To me, it's very important because we take a lot of history for granted," he said.

After the ceremony, Bode asked Turner whether there was a reason she seemed overcome with emotion while reading some of the names.

Turner said she was remembering her research into the detailed accounts of how these WWI veterans died.

For one of her day jobs, she drives young recruits to Fort Sam Houston.

"Usually when they're shipping out, I'm the last person they see from home," she said.

"I know what those kids are fixing to go into, and I've studied and read a lot about what these men went through," Turner said. "The things they saw, I cannot possibly imagine."

___

(c)2017 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas)

Visit Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) at www.victoriaadvocate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.