Following several years of informal recognition of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at Eatonton’s VFW Veterans’ Wall of Honor Park, VFW Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander Nikki Barker decided this year to make it official.
“I was inspired because I’ve watched Mr. Trevor Addison (Putnam County Clerk of Courts) and (past County Commission Chairman) Billy Webster go out there the past few years by themselves and just privately recognize the day. They motivated me,” said Barker, who also is president of the Veterans’ Wall and manager of the local VFW thrift store. “I’m glad they’ve been doing it because it’s a day that we need to remember, and that’s why I asked Trevor to be our guest speaker.”
Barker said approximately 40 people attended the brief service, including about 10 veterans she knew. MSG Michael Taylor led five Putnam County High School Junior ROTC Cadets—Shaley Carrasco, Tanner Lukens, Malcolm Marks, Manson Reeves, and Grady Tippens.
“They presented the colors while Ms. Loretta Hampton sang the national anthem. And Reverend Sidney Jackson, a Vietnam Marine Purple Heart recipient, gave us the invocation and benediction, the opening and closing prayer,” said Barker, who added her own military service was at least partly inspired by the events of 9/11.
“That was at one point a turning point for me. It definitely sparked something patriotic in me, pushing me to join,” Barker added of her seven years in the U.S. Army, ending in 2012 when she retired as an Iraqi Freedom U.S. Army specialist. “It was a day that I know none of us will ever forget.”