VFW Ladies Auxiliary Places Flags in Recognition of Memorial Day
Just as they have done for the past six or seven years, the woman of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post #2949 Ladies Auxiliary gathered to place American flags in the grass, which surrounds the Hardeman County Courthouse. Although it was a small group, which gathered on Thursday, May 22, 2025, to place the flags, there were just enough volunteers to get the job done.
Along with the flags, a board listing the names of soldiers killed in action is placed on one of the courthouse corners on the grass line. Marilyn Marcum, the president of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, has been a member for more than 15 years. She is proud to be able to recognize those killed in action, especially one of the service members whose name appears on the board.
“One name is my brother, Johnny Howell (John W. Howell). I can tell you the year and date that he died, which was February 15, 1971, from a hand grenade. He had just turned 21 in December of 1970,” said Ms. Marcum. “Johnny was out on patrol, and there were some others with him. He happened to hear this grenade coming and they just hit the ground. Johnny put his hands up around his head, but small shrapnel from that grenade caught him in the right temple, and that is what killed him.”
There are 44 names of soldiers listed on the Killed in Action board. The question has often been asked as why only those names are listed when Hardeman County has a large representation of veterans who fought and soldiers who died while serving.
“The names on the board list people whose “home of record”, which is the address they listed as residency when they joined, shows Hardeman County,” said Rick Foster, Senior Vice Commander of the VFW Post #2949, who has at least five different locations of “home of record”, due to moves during his many years of military service.
For Veterans Day, the VFW Ladies Auxiliary places flags around the courthouse and boards with names of Hardeman County veterans, living and deceased, as well as natives and those currently living in the county. Regardless of where they joined, the VFW Post #2949 recognizes them, if aware of the service person. The Bolivar-Hardeman County Library also has a Wall of Honor, a collage of service men and service women from Hardeman County who served and gave in the name of country, so Americans can have the freedoms they now enjoy. People are encouraged to contact the library to have themselves, if a veteran, or their loved ones, if deceased, added to the wall.
Jean Overton is a life member of the VFW Post #2949, as was her husband, Howard “Pop” Overton, Special Fourth-Class from Cloverport, Tennessee. He passed away April 29, 2021, from Agent Orange exposure, which happened during his service in the Vietnam War.
“He was a life member, and I am a life member,” said Mrs. Overton, who stepped away from the post to care for her husband and resumed her membership after his passing. Along with other projects of the Ladies Auxilliary, she thinks placing the flags is a good reminder of the sacrifice of those who served the country.
Mr. Foster also shared, the Ladies Auxiliary has evolved and is now recognized as “the Auxiliary”, due to the number of woman now serving and their spouses who are left behind. Those spouses are encouraged to get involved and join the Auxiliary of the VFW Post #2949. Call Ken Hadley (731) 212-9375 or Kenneth Lain at (731) 610-5480 to learn more.
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