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Some Stuff I Wrote (2001) H. Morris Williams

Benjamin Duke Revisited

June 7,1994

This past Memorial Day I wrote a guest editorial, “Rest in Peace, Benjamin Duke,” about a

memorial service held many years ago to honor a young forester killed in World War n. I mentioned
in the column that I had never known Ben Duke but I am happy to report that I now know some
things about him, thanks to calls from two of my friends. First Doug Epperson called to say he was

a classmate and friend of Ben Duke at the University of Georgia. Doug then invited me to see their
college yearbook which, of course, has photos and lists of honors they received in college. Then

Nelson Blocker told me he likewise had been a school mate of Ben’s at Georgia - and that Ben had
been an Eagle Scout, which would explain the significance of having the scouts at the memorial

service. Both Doug and Nelson described Benjamin as an outstanding young man in college, a credit
to his family, his school, and his country. My thanks go to Doug and Nelson for changing Benjamin

Duke from an “unknown soldier” in my mind to a specific individual who would have been great
at anything he aspired to do. Had Ben not been killed in the war, he would now be enjoying

retirement.
Wait. There’s more! Ed Montgomery called with the incredible good news that he has a

photograph of the memorial ceremony I described in my column. Then he gave the photo to me and
of course it brings back a lot of memories. So, thanks, to you also, Ed!
CHS SENIOR CLASS, 1920 . . . Thanks to Bob Harkness (CHS, 1920), our school

museum now has a photograph of the CHS class of 1920 and their principal, Cy Hollingsworth. The
names of the 13 member class: Lilly Mallory, Theresa Gregory, Robert Harkness, (class president),

Walter Williams, Grace McLaughlin, Loise Wise, Hazel Hedrick, Langley Brown, Fred Leslie,
Henson Markham, Sara Henry, Hilliard Malpus, and Elliot Redding.

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