Senator Phillip Wheeler: Remembering Fallen Heroes

PIKEVILLE —Senator Phillip Wheeler said in a release that he sponsored two bills this past session to memorialize some of the 31st Senate District’s fallen heroes including three men from Lawrence County.

Wheeler said he worked with Lawrence County Judge Executive Phillip Carter to sponsor a bill to memorialize the County’s fallen heroes from the Vietnam War, Corporal Jimmy Wayne Hardwick, Private Ellsworth Swann, and Warrant Officer Charles Spencer.

“The names of these fallen heroes must carry on as a reminder to future generations,” Wheeler said. “Protecting freedom requires a military force like none other. Memorial Day was established to honor those who perished in the Civil War, which claimed more lives than any conflict in our nation’s history. In the late 1860s, Americans began holding springtime tributes to fallen soldiers, decorating graves, and praying together. These memorial activities became a tradition.”

“Pike Countian Virgil Mounts joined the United States Navy at age 16 during World War II and is recognized as the youngest casualty of the D-Day invasion when he was killed at Omaha Beach. He will be honored with a bridge near his former home on Pond Creek at McAndrews,” Wheeler also said in the release. “As you create cherished memories with your family this holiday weekend, engage in conversation with the young people in your life to ensure the special tradition of Memorial Day is not lost. Express to them the magnitude of the holiday.”