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(Photo/Alex Kielar) The Stephens County Commissioners Court heard from Veterans’ Director Les Strickland on the process for getting names engraved on the veterans' memorial monument Monday, Aug. 25, in which he relayed a list of hopeful names to get included who died last year. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) Stephens County Veterans Director Les Strickland goes over the list of veteran names, with Commissioners Court Clerk Cecelia Gonzales, which he received from the Veterans Administration (VA) for veterans who died in 2024 and have not been added to the monument yet. -
(Photo/Alex Kielar) The Stephens County Commissioners Court heard from Veterans’ Director Les Strickland on the process for getting names engraved on the veterans' memorial monument Monday, Aug. 25, in which he relayed a list of hopeful names to get included who died last year.
The Stephens County commissioners are continuing to work on the process for engraving names on the Stephens County Courthouse veteran’s monument. With assistance from the county’s Veteran Director, Les Strickland, they have compiled a list of names to be engraved that have not yet been added for 2024 veteran deaths.
The unofficial list includes 17 names, 10 of which have been verified to be official veterans and honorably discharged by the Veterans Administration (VA). The names were provided by local funeral homes, Melton-Kitchens Funeral Homes and Morehart Mortuary, and by a report of veteran deaths by the Texas Veteran Commission.
In the list of names planned to be engraved, explanations for each name were added. The first three names on the list – James Stephens Creagh II, Brady Tennison, Jr. and Kenneth Dwain Brannan – have been verified, but the applications and documents were received after the deadline, so they did not get on the monument for this year’s Memorial Day ceremony.
The next four names state that the applications were provided but have not been received back yet and the preceding two names state the family is not interested.
Names four through 10 – Gary Lee Grose, Dale Ervin Salisbury, Rodney Lee Hartifield, Jerry Todd Boyd, Bobby Dan Waggoner, Walter Hardin and John Phillips – are not officially verified as veterans, according to Strickland and Commissioner’s Court Clerk Cecelia Gonzales.
Despite the families of some of the veterans saying that they are not interested, the commissioners court has stated that they will be adding any county veteran’s name to the monument as long as they have been verified, unless the family gives a valid reason for them being left off.
The final seven names on the list are listed on the VA report and their honorable discharges have been verified, so they are all set to be put on the monument as well.
Those names are Thomas Deverle Stanford, George Wayne Mayfield, Eddie Richard Squyers, Donald Paul Rodgers, Sr., Larry Don Markham, Gary Mike Rogers and Jimmy Lee Easter.
The county commissioners will continue to work with Strickland on the process and get information verified for any additional names to be engraved to the monument.
The cost of engraving the names is based on per character and for seven names this past Memorial Day the cost was $1,000.
