Stories of Sacrifice

Nov. 11 is an annual holiday honoring the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces during war and peace. 

In Warren, they are honored every day of the year with a personal touch at Bradley County Veterans Museum. Visitors to the remarkable site are greeted by walls filled with photographs of more than 3,000 veterans from this Delta county, dating back to World War I. A special salute is offered to local veterans who died in service.

Arkansas has several military museums that merit a visit. But Bradley County Veterans Museum is the only one focused almost entirely on those who have worn the uniform — rather than tanks, planes, ships, tactics, logistics and other military motifs.

The framed 8-by-10-inch photos of Bradley County veterans stretch from floor to ceiling in several galleries graced by donated red oak hardwood floors laid by volunteers. To be pictured, a veteran or a service member on active duty must live in the county or have done so at some point.

“We aim to bring history into its proper perspective by collecting and preserving pictures, personal stories and limited memorabilia of those from here who served,” says volunteer Floyd Brown. “We want to capture those photos and stories before the veterans are gone. We should continue to appreciate and respect their selfless service and love of country.”

The museum was opened 20 years ago in a former American Legion building in downtown Warren. The derelict property was restored and since then maintained through countless hours of volunteer labor by Brown, John Little, Alford Barnett, Joe Mullins, Cecil Carmical, Robert Tate, Harry McCarkill, Marjorie Ross, Marion Boswell, Baker Peebles, Billy Burton, Victor Hunter, Jack Scobey and others.

Some $240,000 was raised for the building’s renovation and later expansion of the exhibit areas. Funds have come through food and music programs along with memorials and donations. A list of contributors is published each month in the county’s Eagle Democrat newspaper. When
the volunteers can no longer maintain the site, its management will pass to Bradley County.

The museum continues to add photographs, including 46 new faces in 2024. Over the years, the veterans have been identified from various sources. An important one was a database index of Arkansans who served in World War I.

One World War II photo shows Army enlisted man Nolan L. “Pinchy” Williams, who was captured by the Japanese when the U.S. garrison on Corregidor Island surrendered on May 6, 1942. Williams spent 1,227 days as a prisoner of war in the Philippines before being freed on Sept. 13, 1945, after Japan’s surrender.

Also pictured is William Carter Hargis, who landed in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Hargis was shot 16 days later by a German sniper while leading his men through a French village. He ordered his men to safety and sheltered in nearby woods, where several Frenchmen later directed him to a medical station and safety.

An alcove labeled “All Gave Some. These Gave All” displays the photographs of 94 Bradley County servicemen who lost their lives in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Nearby stands a statue of a saluting serviceman with an American flag behind him. The alcove “is dedicated to those who gave their last full measure of devotion to our country and the freedom it represents.”