An eternal flame burns under the trees All Wars Honor Roll Memorials
Burke County Courthouse
Waynesboro, Burke County
"To those who fought for it; Freedom has a taste the protected will never know.
The people of Burke County dedicate this memorial to the men who died in VietNam"
This is one of those memorial areas that attempts to right a wrong. When the original World War II honor roll was placed, probably in the late 40's or early 50's, the names of the lost were segregated. The families of William Hankerson, Rufus Brown, Doc Miles, and the Green boys; Anderson and Sidney, were set apart. It was as if the grief for their sons was something different than that suffered by those who had raised Art Bishop, Joe Mallard, Charlie Wall, and Clay and Bob Herrington, and the other white men of the county.
It takes time to bury bias and prejudice. It doesn't just fade away and it doesn't errode from the pounding waves of an angry sea. It takes a definable act to remove it from a willing community. Somebody in the last few years realized that sacrifice and grief are best appreciated and understood when shared. A new cenotaph was created and topped with an eternal flame. Now the dead are remembered as they should be; as parts of a small community that gave their youth to a cause greater than segregation.
