Tuesday, June 4, 2013

World War II Veterans of Edgecombe County, North Carolina

     This spring, we lost Joel Bourne, one of the founders of the Edgecombe County Veterans' Museum.  Joel was a World War II vet, and you can see his photograph in the Museum, along with hundred of others.  Joel was simply one of the very best people in the area and he was constantly doing things to make the county a better place for all.
     Among other things, Joel put up quite a sum of his own money to renovate the old Colonial Theatre.  And he and some other good buddies, many of them World War II vets, contributed much time and labor to organizing the museum, located next door to the Museum.
     There is another noteworthy veteran from Edgecombe County, David Gatlin.  He flew over 200 missions during World War II.  He lives in Florida, while his brother James Earl, lives in Tarboro.  You can purchase David Gatlin's book describing his war experiences at the Museum.
     I think it's remarkable for such a small town to have had such a large number of veterans from World War II.  We owe them a huge debt for their efforts to make the world a safe place again. 

No comments:

Post a Comment