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Covington Veterans Foundation in partnership with the City of Andalusia is proud to be hosting the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall this week, July 28-31. You may visit it anytime 24/7. Many relatives of those heroes listed on the Wall will be seeing their loved one’s name for the first time. The Wall is a memorial to be treated with the same respect as any other war memorial such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On the Wall are listed more than 58,000 names of U.S. service members killed or missing in action, including 21 from Covington County or with close attachments to the county or who are buried here. The names are listed in chronological order by date of casualty. The names begin and end at the center of the memorial signifying a completion of the war. As you look upon a name on the Wall, you can see a reflection of yourself in the names on the Wall. This is to remind us of the connection of the living to those lost.

The Covington County List

• James Aubrey Cauley, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army. Lost August 11, 1966. Binh Duong Province, Panel 09E Line 126
• George Wallace Jones, Private First Class, U.S. Army. Lost November 22, 1966. Quang Tri Province, Panel 13E Line 72
• John Wayne Hudgens, Specialist Four, U.S. Army. Lost May 18, 1967. Quang Ngai Province, Panel 20E Line 20
• Jimmy Earl Darby, Private First Class, U.S. Army. Lost July 10, 1967. Kontum Province, Panel 23E Line 41
• Ronald Gilmore, Specialist Four [Posthumous], U.S. Army. Lost November 27, 1967. Phu Yen Province, Panel 30E Line 96
• Travis Robert Sutton, Specialist Four, U.S. Army. Lost December 24, 1967. Pleiku Province, Panel 32E Line 55
• Horace Gilbert Giddens, Warrant Officer one, U.S. Army. Lost February 2, 1968, Quang Tri Province, Panel 36E Line 71
• Michael Wayne Johns, Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Lost February 6, 1968, Quang Nam Province, Panel 37E Line 59
• Dewey Ray Owens, Private First Class, U.S. Army. Lost March 16, 1968, Quang Nam Province, Panel 45E Line 4
• Allan Joseph Gaines, Private First Class, U.S. Army. Lost April 7, 1968, Quang Tri Province, Panel 48E Line 41
• Douglas Sidney Scroggins, Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps. Lost August 18, 1968, Quang Nam Province, Panel 48W Line 45
• Henry Beall Smith, Jr., Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Lost August 31, 1968, Quang Tri Province, Panel 45W Line 17
• Carrel Gorum Ealum, Specialist Four, U.S. Army. Lost September 10, 1068, Thua Thien Province, Panel 44W Line 16
• Ralph Gerald Dunn, Sergeant, U.S. Army. Lost February 16, 1969, Kontum Province, Panel 32W Line 43
• James Kenneth Sutton, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army. Lost February 25, 1969, Quang Tri Province, Panel 31W Line 59
• Daniel Patrick Thomas, Jr., Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps. Lost May 31, 1969, Quang Nam Province, Panel 23W Line 032
• Rodney John Evans, Sergeant, U.S. Army. Lost July 18, 1969, Tay Ninh Province, Panel 20W Line 14
• Michael David Gunnels, Airman First Class, U.S. Air Force. Lost September 26, 1969, Nihn Thuan Province, Panel 17W Line 9
• Max Duane Kersey, Specialist Four, U.S. Army. Lost January 5, 1970, Long Khanh Province, Panel 15W Line 129
• James Steven Stanley, Specialist Four, U.S. Army. Lost March 16, 1970, Thua Thien Province, Panel 12W Line 11
• Cecil Clayton Schofield, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army. Lost May 23, 1970, Thua Thien Province, Panel 10W Line 88

May we never forget those whose names are on the Wall. May we honor their supreme sacrifice and pray for those family members whose lives were forever changed.

John Vick

The author would like to thank Robert Evers for compiling the lost of Covington County.