The Moultrie Master Chorale, under the direction of Travis Kern, will commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and World War II by performing John Rutter’s “Requiem” on Saturday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church. This concert will honor all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice during World War II with the Armed Forces Medley with flags carried by veterans, patriotic music, and the playing of “Taps.” A display of World War II memorabilia will be presented by John Benning Chapter NSDAR.

As Bill McLean, an Air Force veteran and avid history buff, and I were researching information for the World War II tribute concert, there were some things we found interesting and thought others would also find interesting. Please note that information from this era is often incomplete, inconclusive, or unavailable.

On the War Memorial at the Eternal Flame at the Colquitt County Courthouse the names of 97 men who have some connection to Moultrie are engraved in stone as fatalities from World War II. Some were born and raised in Colquitt County, others were born here and moved away, while others moved here at some point. Several married women from Colquitt County, including three who met their wives while stationed at Spence Field during the war.

Some were names that you might recognize including Mack Tharpe for whom the stadium is named, and Gene Wright, whose family is the namesake of Wright Auditorium. One family had five sons serving in the war; another had four.

The first World War II fatality was Perry Strickland who was killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which launched the United States into the war.

Ensign Gene Wright died during the first wave of the invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944, in the Battle of Normandy. The battle would continue until August 30 when Allied forces drove the Germans back and liberated France. On two occasions, two Colquitt Countians died on the same day; two died on July 12 and another two died on July 27. In all, fifteen local men died during the Battle of Normandy.

Thirty died and were buried in foreign soil. Several were later repatriated and re-interned in American soil that they so valiantly defended. Eighteen were buried at sea.

Two men died on a Japanese POW ship headed from the Philippines to Japan when it sank. One soldier is believed to have died as a prisoner of war in Germany.

These men died in Germany, France, Greece, North Africa, the Philippines, Iwo Jima, the Solomon Islands, Hawaii, and some even died stateside in training accidents, including the 62 pilots who died while training at Spence Field here in Moultrie. These warriors died over the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. One even died in a snowslide in the Aleutian Islands.

The war in Europe ended on V-E Day, May 8, 1945, with Germany’s unconditional surrender and in the Pacific on V-J Day, Sept. 2, 1945, when Imperial Japan surrendered. In total, 291,000 Americans died in World War II.

Roman philosopher Cicero said, “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation, that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.” This concert seeks to do both, remember and honor those American heroes who served and those who died in World War II.

Nancy Coleman

John Benning Chapter

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution