BOLINGBROKE —
Many years ago, during a Sunday worship service at Cherokee Heights Baptist Church, the Rev. Len Strozier asked all World War II veterans in the congregation to stand and be recognized.
So they rose from the pews, their heads high, as if they were lifting their voices to sing a hymn.
Grace Hinson stood up, too. She felt someone tugging on her arm.
“Sit down,” a man told her. “This is for the veterans, not their wives.”
Grace stood her ground. Yes, she was a WWII veteran’s wife. Her husband, the late Ben Hinson Sr., was with the Army’s 27th Air Depot in New Guinea.
But she had also served in the military, even though her marching orders never took her into the theatres of war. As a nurse with the Army Nurse Corps, she stayed home to care for injured soldiers.
She is one of 350,000 women who served in the armed forces during WWII, compared with more than 16 million men in the military.
She can count on one hand the number of times she has been publicly recognized for her military service.
That will change Friday afternoon. She won’t be in church, but the ceremony will take place in the chapel at Bolingreen Nursing Center.
No one expects her to leap out of her wheelchair and take a bow. This time they will rise to salute her.
Richard Moody, a retired Army colonel from Milledgeville, has arranged the short ceremony.
Since January, he has been involved with a national program called “Freedom Team Salute.” It recognizes U.S. Army veterans, along with the parents, spouses, children and employers of active duty soldiers.
He has delivered about 80 commendation packages, which include a personalized certificate and letter of appreciation from the secretary of the Army.
Much of the recognition is for people he meets or learns about. He has received some names through local veterans’ organizations.
Friday will have extra special meaning, though.
There is a unique bond between the two. Grace Hinson is his aunt and a beacon of light in his military career of more than 30 years.
“I can’t begin to put into words what this fine lady means to me,” Richard said. “She has always been an inspiration. I have a deep sense of gratitude for anyone who has been in the military.”
Grace grew up one of six children on a dairy farm near Union Point in Greene County. She had wanted to attend the University of Georgia and major in home economics, but her family could not afford a college tuition.
She was working at a dry goods store in her hometown when she learned of an opportunity to receive training through a nursing program at the old Macon Hospital.
She was a second lieutenant in the Army Nurses Corps during the last 18 months of WWII, working at Army hospitals in Florida, Pennsylvania and Alabama.
After the war, she spent 37 years as a nurse and nursing instructor at the Macon Hospital and The Medical Center of Central Georgia.
Richard is looking for ways to locate Army veterans in the area. (He can be contacted at rmoody1950@windstream.net. The Web site is www.freedomteamsalute.com.)
“I’m just getting started,” he said. “I’ll do 50 million if I can.”
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