2 important veterans left us this year

Opinion

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November 13, 2008

Letter to the Editor

Anonymous The Glasgow Daily Times Thu Nov 13, 2008, 09:18 AM CST

Dear Editor,

As we approached Veterans Day this year, I was reminded of Tom Brokow’s book, “The Greatest Generation.” We lose several Barren County veterans each year and all of them would be worthy of mention; however, there were two veterans in 2008 that were special to me.

There was Joseph Clark Groce. More affectionately known as J.C. My first acquaintance of him was in the late ’50s, when we served together in Headquarters Battery of the 623rd. I didn’t learn until later that he was a veteran of World War II. I know now that he served more than 20 years in the National Guard while at the same time serving and retiring from the Glasgow Fire Department and Police Department. At the time of his death on Oct. 3 of this year, he was still serving as a sheriff’s deputy in our court system.

The amazing thing about J.C. was his knowledge of numerous entire families of Barren County. He acquired that knowledge because he loved and cared for those families. He truly served his country and his fellow man and I shall never forget the tributes paid him both at his funeral service and at the cemetery.

And then there was Col. Hughie Richard Pedigo. Col. Pedigo served 32 years in the Air Force before his retirement. In 1966, during the height of the Vietnam War, Barren County was losing one of its sons in that war effort every few weeks. I personally lost two cousins from extended family and knew two more of our native sons who lost their lives.

We had a very active Jaycee organization at that time and the members, wanting to do something for our young men in uniform, raised funds and purchased items to be sent to them. Then someone with connections made arrangements for a cargo plane to land at our airport to load those items and fly them directly to Vietnam. When the plane landed one frosty morning and the pilot walked out, we introduced ourselves and learned that he was a fellow Barren Countian, Hughie Richard Pedigo. Later we received letters of thanks from our Barren County men, which confirmed the fact that our friend had completed his mission.

Years later, I got reacquainted with then Col. Pedigo and we reminisced about the first time we met. He had distinguished himself as an Air Force officer and a fighter pilot. When he was at home and among friends, he still remained a Barren Countian and thoroughly enjoyed those times. Yet Col. Pedigo never lost his love for flying and continued to nourish that love by free lance flying anywhere in the world. His last assignments were putting out fires in Spain and France, even after his 70th birthday. We lost one of our finest on Sept. 18 of this year.

As the Honor Guard from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base performed its ceremony at the Hiseville Cemetery and as they played “Taps,” I had a renewed appreciation for our veterans. On my last visit with his wife, she said, “He loved flying more than life.” He, too, belonged to that “Greatest Generation.”

Doug Isenberg

Glasgow

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