Courtesy Photo | Medal of Honor recipient Col. Joe Jackson accepts a sabre from 1st. Lt. Wendall...... read more read more
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As the Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment attend weekend drill in Newnan, Ga., they pass through the doors of the Jackson-Pless Armory, which honors the memory of two Medal of Honor recipients. On April 22, 1978 the Newnan Armory was dedicated in honor of Air Force Col. Joe Jackson and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Stephen W. Pless, both former residents of Newnan. Colonel Jackson was in attendance as was the family of Maj. Pless for the official dedication by Georgia Governor John Busbee.
As the Governor spoke, four F-100 Super Sabre jet fighters of the Ga. Air National Guard streaked in the skies overhead. Joining in the aerial honors was a UH-1 helicopter of the Ga. ARNG.
“To place their names on this armory for all posterity to observe is a fitting tribute to these heroes,” said Governor Busbee during his dedication address. Busbee also noted the significance of the occasion because, at the time, only 23 Georgians had been honored with the nation’s highest award for valor.
Jackson and Pless, both pilots, were on their second tour of duty when they earned the Medal of Honor for life saving actions while surrounded by enemy forces in Vietnam. Colonel Jackson, the pilot of a C-123 aircraft was cited for making a daring rescue of three airmen at Kham Duc, South Vietnam on May 12, 1969. Major Pless, who died in a traffic accident July 20, 1969, was cited for landing a helicopter in the midst of Viet Cong forces and rescuing four American Soldiers stranded on a beach near Quang Ngai, South Vietnam on Aug. 9, 1967.
In addition to the armory dedication Jackson and Pless were honored with the presentation of ceremonial sabers by 1st Lt. Wendall McMillan representing Troop E, 348th Cavalry, 48th Infantry Brigade which occupied the Armory.
Colonel Joe Jackson died Jan. 12, 2019 at his home in Washington. Company B, 2-121, is currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of its fourth combat deployment since September 11, 2011.
| Date Taken: | 01.17.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.17.2019 13:37 |
| Story ID: | 307351 |
| Location: | NEWNAN, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Legacy of MOH Recipients Honored at Newnan Armory, by MAJ William Carraway, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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