Professional Documents
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Bradford Freeman
By Andrew Hazzard | ahazzard@cdispatch.com
Chris Taylor
By Carl Smith | csmith@cdispatch.com
Freeman
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Taylor
Deveon Sudduth
By Isabelle Altman | ialtman@cdispatch.com
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Sudduth
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Gino Conti
By Slim Smith | ssmith@cdispatch.com
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James Hunt
On Laurel native James Hunts 19th
birthday Dec. 16, 1944 German
forces during World War II began an
offensive through the thick, covered Forest
of Ardennes in Belgium. There, in the
historic Battle of the Bulge, they clashed
with U.S. forces, including Hunt, who was
a replacement infantryman in the 18th
Infantry, 1st Division of K Company.
The coldest winter ever, says Hunt, who
lives in Columbus today. I mean, snow up
to the gazoo.
The ground was frozen, making it
impossible to break the ground to dig
foxholes. The soldiers had to light small
sticks of dynamite just to break the crust
of the ground to even begin to dig, Hunt
remembers.
And the bad thing about it was once you
got the foxhole dug, when the offensive
started moving forward, you left the nice
warm foxhole and went out to do it over
again, he says.
Hunt had been drafted in 1943. He was
discharged for medical reasons before the
war was over. After returning to Mississippi,
he finished his education and taught at
Mississippi University for Women for 30
years. He has helped create programs both
at the university and in the community
to benefit Columbus handicapped
community.
Years later, he would return to Belgium
with his first wife to visit his daughter,
Elizabeth Neil, who works for the State
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Conti
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Jeff Donald
By Alex Holloway | aholloway@cdispatch.com
Donald
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Kenneth Montgomery
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John Fraiser
Cobb
Jesse Cobb
By Isabelle Altman | ialtman@cdispatch.com
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Joseph Johnson
By Alex Holloway | aholloway@cdispatch.com
Fraiser
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Johnson
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Thank You.
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TriniTy Place
Honoring Those
Who Served
Past,
Present,
And Future
The Dispatch
The Dispatch
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Proud
Supporter
of U.S.
Veterans
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The Dispatch
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662-323-6360
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The Dispatch
Leondre Rice
By Carl Smith | csmith@cdispatch.com
Artillery Regiment.
Serving in an active warzone, he
says, brought with it the obvious perils.
Tensions ran higher that April day Rice
was wounded, as insurgents armed with
small arms, rocket-propelled grenades
and car bombs attacked American forces
at Abu Ghraib prison.
We were supposed to get some
equipment installed on our Humvees. I
thought we were going to get attacked
that day, he says while describing how
his convoy snaked through crowded,
hostile streets.
In addition to the scars left by the
attack, Rice says hell always carry with
him the camaraderie he experienced with
fellow soldiers.
Its all about the family each other
over there, he says. I feel like I was
closer with those guys than most people.
We were as close as you can be without
being actual blood family.
Michael Hunter
By Carl Smith | csmith@cdispatch.com
Rice
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Hunter
Nick Ardillo
By Slim Smith | ssmith@cdispatch.com
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Ardillo
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Thank
You
for your service
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Robert Bishop
By Slim Smith | ssmith@cdispatch.com
Bishop
Robert Bishop credits two things for his remarkable 24-year career as a Special Ops
soldier in the U.S. Army a community pool in his hometown of Starkville and an
incredibly understanding wife.
Bishop, who joined the Army in 1974 and made it through the rigorous Special Ops
training, said the little pool gave him an advantage.
Because of that pool, I learned to be a good swimmer, he says. A lot of candidates
couldnt swim or swim well, especially a lot of the black soldiers. So that really worked to
my advantage.
As a member of Special Ops, Bishop found himself in military hot spots all over the world
from Grenada to Bosnia to Panama and, Bishop says, some places I still cant talk about.
The nature of his job meant being ready to deploy on short notice.
When I got home, I always had another bag packed, he says. When the phone rang, I
had to be ready to go and couldnt tell my wife where I was going. I couldnt have had this
career without the support of my wife, who took care of our two kids.
After retiring with the rank of command sergeant major in 1998, Bishop taught high
school in Houston, Texas, before returning home to Starkville, where he taught ROTC at
Starkville High for 11 years. He retired last year and now works as a bailiff for Oktibbeha
County.
In addition to their two children, Bishop, 62, and his wife, Jerrie, have five grandchildren.
Stephanie Perkins
By Andrew Hazzard | ahazzard@cdispatch.com
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