Marion Co TOC

       (Page 87) Little can be said in a county history of the sorrow and loss suffered by our people because of the wars to which we have sent loved ones. It is almost impossible to find records of veterans except in State and National Archives, and hours of research are required, as they are listed by regiments and often their places of residence are not given. So it is with sorrow that we submit a partial list of those who served and some who died on foreign fields.
       One of our bicentennial projects is to place a marker on the Courthouse lawn, naming all those who gave their lives in service for their country from this county. When the Civil War veterans' names are gathered, it will be complete.
       This county boasts of having had two Revolutionary War veterans buried on its soil: Obediah Wood, age 95, who, in 1840, was living with William Wood. He was born in 1745. He was living in Wake County, North Carolina, in 1790. and in Anderson County, Tennessee, in 1830 before coming to Arkansas; Abner Hamlet is buried in the old Cowan Cemetery south of Yellville.
       While space and lack of records forbid a complete list of men who served from this county, we honor all of them. Visits to homes, talks with citizens and friends, and clippings proved these men are held yet in high esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Luke Padgett had five sons who served their country-one made the supreme sacrifice. Mr. and Mrs. Bill McCracken lost two sons in WWII.
       At least three of our veterans made a career of service. Mr. Luther Hall served in both World Wars; L. Don Ott served with NATO and Doyle Linck served twenty years, then came home to manage the Flippin Airport. We have the names of four Marion County women who served as civilians attached to the military in WWI. They were: Mrs. Mae (Doshier) Patterson; Ina Hurst; Edith Layton; and Lena Sims. There was at least one nurse, Lt. Bonnie Lee Hudson, from Marion County. She served in the Philippines and later in West Germany.
       One of our Korean veterans, Charles Gilliland, was awarded posthumously the highest award-the Congressional Medal of Honor. Danny Joe Williams of Flippin was awarded the Purple Heart while in Vietnam. Ronald McGown, who served on the USS Little Rock, was entertained by the city officials in Little Rock for his contribution to the war effort.
       Some of the Veteran Organizations in the county are: American Legion (Page 88 Top) Estes-Williams Post #61 was organized in 1920 in Yellville and named after Dennis Estes, WWI, and John W. Williams, WWII; VFW- Billy G. Anderson Post #7522 was organized in 1946 at Yellville; VFW - Clark-Padgett Post was organized in Flippin in 1946 and named after James Harvey Clark, WWII, and Donald Padgett, WWII; VFW - Cheek-Mellon Post #7832 was organized in Pyatt in 1946 and named after L. D. Cheek, WWII, and Elton Lewis Melton, WWII; VFW - Hovels-Barnett Post #1341 was organized in Bull Shoals in 1955 and named after Henry Hovels, WWI, and- Stewart Barnett, Vietnam.
       The following should be mentioned for their loyalty to help secure benefits for all veterans over the years: Carl Keeter, Gordon Stanley, Lucian Wood, Jack Strahan, John Bartee, and Karl King. County Service Officers were John Bartee and Karl King.