By JIM FAILE

A longtime dream for many became a reality Thursday with the formal dedication of Hartsville’s Veterans Memorial in Burry Park.

Hundreds of people, including many veterans, their families and U.S. military active duty personnel were on hand for the historic event, which concluded with the singing of the national anthem by the Coker College Singers and the raising of the U.S. flag over the memorial by active duty members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. The flag was presented by veterans of American Legion Post 53 in Hartsville.

The ceremony began at 11 a.m. to mark the exact time that World War I came to an end, 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

The memorial consists of five monuments each bearing a bronze bas relief sculpture on its outside wall depicting scenes of U.S. service personnel in action in time of war. The monuments are arranged in the shape of a pentagon.

Each bronze panel represents a different conflict: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf wars (Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia).

Greenville artist Charlie Pate, a Hartsville native, created the sculptures.

“It’s just been a great day,” Pate said. “I feel like, first of all I want to praise God for giving me the talent to do it. I’m thankful for the veterans who served our country and thankful that I could do this to honor them. I’m thankful to my family and to my hometown for doing this.”

He said he was especially gratified because of the work his son, Charles, did on the project assisting him with the sculptures.

Pate said the most impressive moment for him came when the flag reached the top of the flagpole. “That’s the first time I’ve seen it complete. The flag was a part of the overall memorial,” he said.

Memorial plaques honoring individual veterans will be mounted on the memorial’s interior walls. Two walls are already filled, with space for a total of 420 of the black granite plaques.

The City of Hartsville is selling the plaques to help pay for the memorial.

Warner DeHart, who spearheaded the effort to erect a memorial to the veterans of Hartsville and Darlington County, said the effort started nearly 14 years ago. Several committees were formed and worked on the project over the years, he said. The effort stalled at least twice, but dedicated citizens and community leaders would not let it die, DeHart said.

“Today, I am filled with pride when I look at what Hartsville’s people have accomplished,” DeHart said. “This memorial is a dignified and beautiful reflection of our gratitude to our veterans.”

“While Hartsville is truly a unique and wonderful place in which to work and live, our community has had no place of honor for veterans who have served their country,” DeHart said. “I am grateful for those who stuck with us toward raising the money, creating Burry Park and finding the perfect spot for our memorial.”

DeHart, an Air Force veteran, is the former Veterans Affairs officer for Darlington County. He said there are currently more than 5,000 U.S. military veterans living in Darlington County.

“I’m hoping this memorial will always be a place to visit and remember our veterans and serve as a place for patriotic events for years to come,” DeHart said.

DeHart praised Pate’s work on the sculptures for his painstaking attention to detail and authenticity.

Hartsville native Maj. Gen. Cornell A. Wilson Jr., USMC (Ret.), said he was proud of his hometown for erecting a memorial to its veterans.

He said the debt America owes to its military veterans is one that can never be fully repaid.
Wilson served as commander of Combined Joint Task Force Consequence Management at Camp Doha, Kuwait, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He most recently served as commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces South in Miami, Fla., and deputy commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. He retired in August.

Wilson, whose father was a World War II veteran, recalled growing up in Hartsville and the values he learned during that time from people like “Coach” T.B. Thomas, a World War II veteran who delivered the invocation for Thursday’s dedication ceremony.

“This nation owes a great deal to its veterans,” Wilson said.

The contribution of the nation’s veterans did not end with their military service, he said. When they returned home, they helped build communities and the nation, he said. “They did not just rest on their laurels,” Wilson said.

Wilson also addressed veterans in the audience. “You are a select group,” he said. “Your citizenship dues have been paid.”
Some veterans are still in combat, he said, pointing out a group of U.S. Marines in the audience who are in Hartsville training with bomb sniffing dogs and who will soon be deploying to Afghanistan. “They are making us proud and they are winning,” he said.

Former Hartsville City Manager Jess Stewart, a retired U.S. Army colonel who received the Silver Star for his service in Vietnam, echoed those sentiments.

“There are men and women who continue to serve this country with the same devotion to duty that has always characterized the American military,” Stewart said.

Stewart referred to each of the wars represented on the memorial. He noted that some of the veterans whose names are on the interior of the memorial’s wall served in two and in one case three wars.

Stewart also thanked the families of veterans for sharing their memories of sacrifice and hardship.
“The valor that pours from these walls will not be forgotten,” he said. “On behalf of the service members and families, we say thanks for honoring us on this Veterans Day.”

Lt. Col. Curtis Lee, USMC Reserve, of Hartsville, served as master of ceremonies for the event. Lee, who earlier this year returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan thanked those who helped make the memorial a reality, including DeHart and Pate, project architect Bobby Goodson, the Cargill Task Force, the Burry Park Committee, the Burry Park Veterans Memorial Committee - with assistance from the Hartsville Downtown Development Association, the Black Creek Arts Council and the Hartsville Design Review Board – City of Hartsville staff and the Hartsville mayors and city council members who over 14 years supported the project.

The Rev. Tim McKnight, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Hartsville, a former U.S. Army captain and chaplain who now serves as the chaplain for the Hartsville police and fire departments, led the litany of dedication.

“Oh God, we give you thanks for those who answered the call, left home and hearth to serve our country, for their sacrifices, their fortitude and their dedication to the cause of right,” he said in the litany. “We are thankful for those who served in distant lands, to those who served on our own nation’s soil, for those whose service in time of war and for those who served in other times to protect the peace.”