WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Honor Flight: Abandoned by industry, Kershaw rallies around its heroes

Honor Flight: Abandoned by industry, Kershaw rallies around its heroes

By Ben Hoover - bio | email

KERSHAW, SC (WIS) - The town of Kershaw in Lancaster County may lack an identity when it comes to industry, but folks there say they make up for it with their pride.

That pride will soon be on full display, in a story that proves people make all the difference when you're working against the odds.

Driving into Kershaw, you can't help but notice the towering structures popping up over North Hampton Street.

"Kershaw, historically, has been know as a mill town," said Al Poston, with Honor Flight Kershaw.

The mill is history, closed about 20 years ago. As time passed, new industry passed on Kershaw.

"Kershaw really does not have a major industry that we can hang our hat on," said Poston.

With nothing new to replace the mill, Poston says his town invested in its people -- and patriotism. Over the summer, that investment started to pay off.

"It was almost like a steamroller effect," said Bryant Fersener.

"This is truly grass-roots," said Poston.

Poston teamed up with people like Fersener to honor the town's oldest heroes. The grass-roots effort is Honor Flight, a program that flies World War II veterans to the nation's capital to see the monument built in their honor.

"I think it shows the patriotism in our community, the respect the community has for the vets," said Fersener.

Fersener and Poston knew they were up against a lot. Chartering an Honor Flight costs $50,000. In a community with a jobless rate that hovers around 20 percent, 50 grand seemed far off.

"People came onboard, the community came together," said Fersener.

"The support was tremendous," agreed Poston.

From July to October, the community raised $62,000.

"This is the best thing since sliced bread," said veteran George Waldrop.

With that money veterans like George Waldrop, Douglas Williams and Robert Harris will get to take that flight.

"I fought in three battles," said Waldrop.

"I was a radio operator-gunner on a B-24," Williams said.

"I worked at the mess halls and washed planes," said Harris.

The heroes will get to take a trip to honor their service and the sacrifices of their buddies who didn't come home.

"The emotions are going to float to the surface," one vet said.

Emotions are hard to keep in check when the veterans visit their monument, but there's support along the way. In this case, the support comes from a much younger generation.

"Veterans have a special place in my heart because they gave up so much for our great country," said Andrew Jackson High School student Jacob Wells.

"They realize that young people of America do care what they did," fellow student Katie Truesdale said.

On the day of the flight, students at Andrew Jackson High School will ride a bus to Washington to meet the veterans at the memorial.

"The ROTC, we are going to form a walkway for the vets and salute them and make them feel special and give them the respect they deserve," said Wells.

The veterans appreciate the time, money, and hard work that went into the undertaking. But even considering the circumstances in Kershaw, it doesn't surprise them.

The town seems to realize when you invest in your people, empty signs of the past don't seem all that important after all.

The high school students left for DC around midnight Saturday. In the middle of the night, 90 vets and 60 guardians will begin their trip.
     
In an interesting side note, some of the granite used to build the World War II memorial in Washington came from right outside Kershaw.

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