by Beth Harrison

Remembering and honoring our community veterans is a special pride of the Jonathan Hardin Chapter, NSDAR, Inc. Our veterans are local heroes who served in wars and conflicts and dedicated their lives to their country… and ultimately for our freedoms… and must be commemorated. This time of the year, the Jonathan Hardin Chapter reflects on the veterans throughout our past who have served, fought, sacrificed, and died since America’s Independence was won and also reveres our active-duty service members, Gold Star and Blue Star families.

Walking through our cemeteries and acknowledging the graves of our fallen military is humbling. We never want to forget the sacrifices that have been made to preserve our great nation, as we see the graves of men and women who dedicated their lives to their country by serving in all branches of service and in diverse positions. “We may not know them, but we owe them,” is a quote from Karen Worcester, Executive Director, Wreaths Across America.

This year, the Jonathan Hardin Chapter, NSDAR, Inc. will sponsor five cemeteries – Driver (Teague), Salem (Teague), Wortham/Blind Lemon Memorial (Wortham), LaSalle (Groesbeck) and New Hope (Jewett). We will remember and honor over 530 veterans buried at these locations on National Wreaths Across America Day-December 14, 2024.

For more information, see the webpage: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/TX1128P.

One of our many heroes:

1 Lt Cecil Willard “Ace” Biggs. was the Only Son of Benjamin French Biggs and Mary Ann Rife. He Married Mary Nan Manning on 5 Feb 1942 in Teague Tx. Together they Had one son, Cecil William Biggs on 23 Dec 1942. He Loved flying and worked as a crop duster for his future father-in-law in Mexia Tx. He went to Texas Tech in 1939 to pursue a career as an electrical engineer. However, that all changed after Pearl Harbor. Cecil desperately wanted to join the Air Corps. Being the only son he had to have written permission from one of his parents. His father was very, very protective of him and would not sign for him. He finally convinced his mother to sign after many attempts. His father never forgave her for that. He Joined the Air Corps in 1942 and became aid to General Mark Clark. Cecil died near Arnhem Holland during Operation Market Garden on 21 Sep 1944 when the plane he was piloting was shot down. Small group remains of his and his four crew members were recovered and eventually buried in Zachery Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville Kentucky in 1952. These remains were never identified because of the lack of technology in that day. Larger Individual remains where not recovered until September of 1994 and later identified through DNA testing in Jan 2007. His long-awaited interment in Salem Cemetery was on June 9, 2007, next to his father.

Information found on “Find A Grave” website.