Memorial Day Service honors veterans who died in 2024
By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
With umbrellas in hand, a small crowd gathered at the Stephens County Veterans Monument on the corner of the courthouse lawn this morning for the annual Memorial Day Service, hosted by the the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #7767.
The ceremony was kept short, due to the rain. Russell Blue with the VFW Auxiliary began the ceremony with the Call to Order, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Blue read the names of the local U.S. Military Veterans who died in 2024 and whose names were added to the granite monument:
Jerry D. Brown
Ray G. Davis
Ernest L. Boggs
Jerry B. Collins
Herbert W. Jackson
Charles W. Horton
Additionally, the name of Marion J. Provost Jr., who died in 2022, was added to the monument.
The service also included a prayer and message by pastor Danny Lee.
The Stephens County Veterans Memorial features four stone panels with the names of local veterans who have died, engraved in order of the year they died, starting with World War I veterans who died in 1918. A fifth stone panel was installed several years ago for names to be added in the future.
Click here to see a photo gallery from the ceremony.
Additionally, this weekend, a group of volunteers honored veterans buried in the Breckenridge Cemetery by placing American flags on their graves. That activity is organized each Memorial Day by Jim Merson, a U.S. Navy veteran, and Les Strickland, the Stephens County Veterans Service Officer and a retired U.S. Marine. Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan’s story and photos from that event, which took place on Saturday. Merson and Strickland will be picking up the flags at 5 p.m. this afternoon, May 26, and will welcome any volunteers who can help.
Family, friends and other community members gathered this morning, Monday, May 26, at the Stephens County Veterans Monument to honor local U.S. Military Veterans who died in 2024. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
The small crowd gathered at the Stephens County Veterans Monument had umbrellas and rain jackets to protect them from the rain falling this Memorial Day. The annual Memorial Day Service hosted by local VFW Post #7767 honored those veterans who died in 2024. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Les Strickland, the Stephens County Veterans Service Officer and a retired U.S. Marine, and his wife, Sherry, join others in prayer during the 2025 Memorial Day Service at the Veterans Monument on the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn. Click here to see more photos from the event. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
