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Rockport Heroes Remembered!
Series Three Of The Soldier Series.
Time May be Immortal-Soldiers Are Not!

Stat by jrd on 6/7/05. Old Photos Furnished by Hilma.
Music File Is An Old 1941 World War II Tune.


Elwood Stewart H. T. Kennedy
L. W. Harrell
6/7/05

Greetings all and a special wish for a "Good Day" to you. May your day be an eventful one and just what you would ask for.

As you can see, I have some more copies of "Old Soldier" pictures and hope to present them in such a way as to honor each soldier and to help assure that their deeds will never be forgotten. Each Soldier answered their call to duty and did not hesitate to serve when needed. Each of these soldiers returned back home and to a better place. Other did not. Each of these soldiers returned to freedom and the ability to pursue happiness.

Of the three soldiers pictured, I knew two of them well. I just never had the pleasure of meeting L. W. Harrell. I remember some Harrell's between Rockport and McHenry and am assuming this group of Harrell's are the relatives of L. W.

This stat will probably end the "Rockport Heroes" Series. I have run out of old pictures and do not foresee any more coming in. Rockport, like other small towns, has produced many heroes. Where I have touched upon a few heroes, I have left out many. I wish that I had the time and energy to search out and name each one as well as to produce a picture of every soldier. Where I have mention a few, many exist and may their memory live on. For this omission of all of the other heroes, I ask for understanding. I only expounded on those soldiers that I had a picture. Do want to say "Thanks" for following along with me during this special three part series of Hero Soldiers. I appreciate any input that you have given and especially appreciate your sharing of your time and energy in looking at the three stats.

The top picture on the left is none other than Elwood Stewart. What a character! For a person that worked five and six days a week, he seem to always be available to help a friend, a kid, or for that matter, a stranger. With that unique grin and chuckle, Elwood was just a nice person to be around. Like others before him and many after him, he picked up his old tote back and went off to war. After serving his country, he returned home and a few years later, was able to get a job with Peabody Coal Company, Ken Mine. With a good job and a good marriage, he raised a large family and eventually retired from Peabody.

H. T. Kennedy is pictured to the right of Elwood. If you lived in the Rockport area, H. T. knew you. Whether you were one year old or ninety, H. T. would always have time to acknowledge your presence. He just made you feel better. With the assistance of his two lovely wives, he help make the town better. H. T. married Neil and they raised a son, H. T. Kennedy Jr. After her early death, H. T. married Emma Rae and she had a child from a previous marriage. This marriage produced two children and thus, this family, as the old saying goes, raised "His, Hers and Ours". H. T. was needed by Uncle Sam and he went, serving his country well. He returned and got one of those good jobs with Peabody Coal Company, Ken Mine. After working for many years with Peabody, H. T. retired and eventually, he and his wife moved to Louisville to be with their children and grandchildren.

The picture at the bottom-left is a "Soldier Hero" by the name of L. W. Harrell. I never knew L. W., but I wish that I could have had the honor. He answered the call to duty, served his country and returned a hero. May his memory and his service to his country never be forgotten.

An update from L. W. Harrell from an e-mail buddy:
L.W. Harrell married Shirley Danks Alexander's mother at one time but they divorced. He owned the farm on Hwy.85 across from the Grider's. It used to have big grain bins on it.

This stat is number three of a three part "Rockport Hero" series. Again, I want to stress that I have only included a few of many "Soldier Heroes" from the Rockport area. I presented those that I had pictures. In the first stat, I asked for pictures from you and a promise to include them in this series. The response was not very good and thus, I conclude this series.

As always, I appreciate your time and effort in looking over any and all of these stats. I enjoyed the process of producing each stat and the enjoyment is magnified when someone will take the time to look at the pictures and to read the text. Many thanks to Hilma for the old pictures. I thought that they were very good when you consider the age of each picture and of it being a copy of a copy that was scanned by a scanner for a digital picture. Thanks.

See you........
jrd


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See you.....
jrd