Franklin Memorial Library continues to host coffee hour every Monday at 9:30 a.m. for the local veterans. This week, the Emanuel County Veterans group had a special guest in costume. Dess Smith introduced Steven Burke as one of the most informed and eloquent speakers on the Confederate era. He is shown pictured with Wilder Smith, holding a sharpshooter rifle designed by railroad engineers from the era with a recorded one-mile kill across a river.
The library's manager, Gladys Collins, is also a veteran. She served in the Georgia Army National Guard 878 Engineer Battalion, Swainsboro 1976-1980 with D. Smith.
Also pictured is Ty Smith, a Vietnam veteran. As a member of the US Special Forces, he wore the Green Beret and was part of a group who conducted long-range reconnaissance patrols in Cambodia. A successful mission to destroy enemy weapon caches or turn over POWs would be to go undetected while on patrol.
If there are any other special forces veterans or women veterans in the Swainsboro area, be sure to visit the Veterans coffee hour to tell your story or call Franklin Memorial Library at 478-237-7791 and ask for Rebekah Black.
The Emanuel County Veterans, in conjunction with the library, is planning a county-wide Wreaths Across America celebration to remember and honor local veterans and to teach younger generations about the past. Veterans and library staff look forward to working with the community to get a list of all Veterans and burial locations, as well as display wreaths on local hero graves on December 17.
