Memorial honors Alamance County's men and women of the armed forces
 
Times-News
May 27, 2007 3:00 AM
Almost 600 names on the Alamance County War Memorial remind us of the local men and women who died in wars and military conflicts.
The granite memorial was dedicated in 1996.
That year, and ever since, people have gathered there on Memorial Day to remember and honor the men and women who died in military service.
The inscription on the monument reads: “This memorial is dedicated to the honor of all the brave men and women of Alamance County who fought in service to their country and in memory of those inscribed here who died in defense of our freedom.”
Volunteers planned for the memorial and raised the money to pay for it.
Don Bolden, editor emeritus of the Times-News, said the late W.B. “Junior” Teague and he got the project started and were joined by many who wanted a tribute to people who died in military conflicts.
Teague was chairman of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners and Bolden was editor of the Times-News. Bolden said the two were talking one day about Teague’s brother, William Teague, who died while serving in World War II.
Bolden said he and Teague agreed, “It’s a shame there’s nothing in the county to remember all these people.” Bolden ran a notice in the newspaper to get the effort under way.
This year’s Memorial Day service will be Monday from 11 a.m. to noon. The memorial is on West Elm Street in Graham.
Past services have honored the men and women who died in the conflicts listed on the memorial.
Bolden said this year, in keeping with recent tradition, one focus of the service will be recognizing the contributions of local veterans who have died since last Memorial Day.
The wars and conflicts included on the memorial include the U.S. Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the USS LIBERTY Attack and the Middle Eastern Conflict.
The last category includes the name of Alan Lam, a U.S. Marine who is the only member of the military from Alamance County to die while serving in Iraq. He was killed when a grenade launcher exploded.
Most of the names are from the U.S. Civil War and World War II. More than 200 names are listed from each war.
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