PHOTO GALLERY: Magnolia Garden Club Hosts Veterans Day Program In Latta

The Magnolia Garden Club hosted a Veterans Day Program in Latta on Saturday morning in Latta’s Veterans Park. Several well-known local veterans including Carroll Allen, James Calvin McRae, Jerry Huggins, and Vicar Fred Gough participated in the program. The Latta High School Band also participated. The event was well-attended. More in The Dillon Herald next week.

PHOTO GALLERY
PHOTOS BY BETSY FINKLEA/THE DILLON HERALD
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On November 11th at 10:30 a.m., Veterans Park in Latta was the scene of a program honoring the veterans and the early planting of a tree for Arbor Day. This replaces a tree that was planted in 2003, but was destroyed in a recent storm. The Town of latta and the Eagle Scouts was responsible for the planting of the tree for the Magnolia Garden Club.
The music for the program was performed by the Latta high School Band under the direction of John Griggs. The LHS Band placed sixth in competition with 16 bands in the state.
The following took part in the veterans program:
• Carroll Allen is a 1950 graduate of Clemson College. He was a math teacher at Latta High School from 1956-1961. He served in the Army and later joined the National Guard. He attended the Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1981, he became Commander of the 218 Infantry Brigade of 6,000 troops in Newberry, SC, and was appointed Brigadier General in 1984. In 2004, Dillon County named him Veteran of the Year. In honor of his military service, Highway 917 East was named for him. He retired in 1984.
• James Calvin McRae is a Vietnam Veteran and received two Purple Hearts in Vietnam. He has served as Chairman of the Drug and Alcohol Commission in Dillon County. James is a past member of the State School Board (1989-1992). He also served on the Governor’s School Council under Governor Jim Hodges (1990-1992). He has been an active volunteer with Latta Schools and Recreation. He retired from DuPont.
* Fred Gough serves as Vicar at the Saint Barnabas Anglican Church in Dillon. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1958-1960 and in the Marine Corps from 1960-1964. Fred entered the South Carolina State Guard in 1990 and retired in 2013 with the rank of Colonel. He is currently serving in the Joint Services Detachment with the rank of colonel as the Command Chaplain of that unit. He is also a member of the Latta Rotary Club.
* Jerry L. Huggins was the Veterans Affairs Officer in Dillon County for 20 years. Prior to this, Jerry had 23 years of active duty. He served in Vietnam from 1967-1968. He started at the Veterans Affairs Office in 1997. He remains active in Veterans Affairs in Dillon County.

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