The Wiregrass Chapter, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution, held its monthly meeting on Thursday night, August 8, at McKinney’s Pond Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. With President Steve Burke presiding, they had 20 in attendance. After Chaplain Emory Fennell said the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag and the Pledge to the SAR, President Steve talked about all the events that we have participated in the last month since our last meeting. He also talked about the upcoming events including the BIG Ebenezer Heritage Day on Labor Day at Ebenezer. The Brier Creek Artillery and Brier Creek Militia will have "travelin trunks" set up by Steve Burke, Alton McCloud and Ted Walker. They will also have five cannons ready to fire on the hour starting at 10 and 11 a.m., 12, 1, and 2 p.m. After each volley, "Thunder Lips", Compatriot Don Bazemore" will play taps on his bugle. President Steve then introduced Compatriot Bernard Martin of the Brier Creek Chapter to present his program on "The Attack on the USS Stark". Bernard talked about his ship the USS Stark, and how he was transferred off of it the morning before it was struck that afternoon by two Exocet missiles. A total of 37 United States Navy personnel were killed or later died as a result of the attack, and 21 were injured. This happened in the Persian Gulf, May 17, 1987, as the USS Stark was part of the Middle East Task Force assigned to patrol off the Saudi Arabian coast near the Iran-Iraq War exclusion boundary. The United States Central Command identified the attacking aircraft as an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter. Later reports asserted that the attacking aircraft was a Falcon 50 business jet which had been modified with a radar and missile hardpoints to carry two AM-39 Exocet missiles for anti-shipping operations. Compatriot Chaplain Emory Fennel then said the benediction followed by the SAR processional.
