Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Okolona veteran honored

Something good coming out of Okolona?

Of course why not? In recent months it seems all that's been heard about Okolona is negative, but there was, is and always will be some good everywhere.

Paul Beverly Garrett attended Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. Sometime after that he worked as Postmaster of Okolona from February 11, 1936, until April 21, 1936.

Shortly after working at the Post Office, Garrett entered the United States Army. Garrett was killed in action in Luxembourgh on December 24, 1944.

Because Garrett is an Ouachita Alumnus, he had been named as one of the 36 "Fighting Tigers".

Dr. William D. Downs Jr., walked by the campus memorial dedicated to the Tigers who served and lost their lives.

For 35 years Downs walked by the memorial located in front of McClellan Hall, but one day he thought, "Each of these men has a story behind just their names."

Last year Downs received a faculty research grant. With this grant Downs plans on finding the untold stories of these heroes.

Down's said, "All of the men on the wall are heroes. They must, and will, be remembered. I want to make every effort possible to resurrect memories of these men so that those of us who have benefitted so much from their gallantry can gain a deeper appreciation of who they were, what they wanted in life, the things that made them laugh and cry, the persons they loved, and whatever else I can find that puts faces and stories these names carved in granite."

Information is being sought on 1st Lt. Carmon B. Rucker of Grand Saline, Texas; Lt. Gaston Dan Shofner of Morrilton, Ark. and Pfc. Jarold Duke of Strong, Ark.

If anyone has any information on these gentlemen you can contact Downs at (870) 246-5390 (home) or (870) 245-5207 (office) or e-mail him at downsw@cei.net.