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(Archive photo) A veteran points at a name on the Stephens County veterans memorial on the courthouse lawn following last year’s Memorial Day service. New names are inscribed to the monument each year and honored during the annual service which will be held this year at 10 a.m. Monday, May 25.
An annual tradition honoring those who served, the Memorial Day Ceremony will be held Monday at the Stephens County Courthouse.
The event will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 25 at the courthouse at 200 W. Walker St. in Breckenridge. Names were being accepted by the Stephens County Veterans Service Officer and Stephens County through Friday, April 24.
Each year, new names are etched into the stone and the community gathers on Memorial Day for a ceremony honoring those veterans.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7767 and members of the community will be present for that ceremony Monday to pay their respects to county veterans who have passed in 2024, 2025 and two veterans that passed in 2017 and 2019.
In 2019, a new granite stone was installed by Brady Monument Company at a cost of just under $19,000, through local fundraising efforts. As space on the original stones filled up, the addition allowed the tradition to continue.
The cost of engraving new names is calculated per character, with seven names added in 2025 totaling approximately $1,000. The process of gathering names and organizing the ceremony was previously handled by VFW Post 7767.
The Stephens County Commissioners voted in May 2025 to take over that process, including funding the engraving, planning the Memorial Day ceremony and verifying the names of veterans added.
The county receives monthly reports and verified names are added to a working list which is unveiled in May.
Names from previous years
Johnny L. Pardue
Coy Leslie Bargsley
Names from 2024
James Stephens Creagh II
Brady Tennison, Jr.
Kennth Dwain Brannan
Gary Lee Grose
Dale Ervin Salisbury
Jerry Todd Boyd
Bobby Dan Waggoner
John Edward Phillips
Robert Allen Satterwhite
Thomas Deverle Stanford
George Wayne Mayfield
Eddie Richard Squyers
Donald Paul Rodgers, Sr.
Larry Don Markham
Gary Mike Rogers
Jimmy Lee Easter
Names from 2025
Ellison Hartley
George Marshall Fuller
Ryan Neal Wagnon
Don Michael Easley
Joe Earl Fisher
Weldon Cooper Little, Jr.
Larry Gene Hollingsworth
Jesse Leo Littlefield
Charles Ray Eltch
George Edward Credicott
George William Taylor
Joe Luna Martinez
Tommy Wimberley
John Riley Swinney
William Walter Harrison, Sr.
