On Wednesday March 20, 2019, the ribbon was cut on the Hopkins County Veterans Memorial….about seven years after it’s dedication. A committee to design and construct the memorial was formed in 2004 with Clayton McGraw, Robert Carpenter, Don Roundtree, Pam Elliott, Ruth Davis, John Ward, Dena Loyd, Art Romanat, Tommy Allison, Sam Johnson, Dwayne Schultz, Bob King and Vicky Lee as committee members in charge of various aspects of the creation of the Memorial. McGraw reminisced, “Back in 2002, my wife and I saw a memorial like this in another state and said to each other, ‘we need that in Sulphur Springs!’ So I talked to then County Judge Cletis Millsap about the idea and he said the County would support it 100%. I walked over the City Hall and talked to Manager Marc Maxwell and he said the City of Sulphur Springs would do the same thing. And guess, what, both leaders agreed that the Memorial should be constructed in the center of our town, on the square, next to the courthouse”. Following a number of years of construction, the Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 4, 2012 in downtown Sulphur Springs. Since then, hundreds of names of Veterans have been added and engraved on the seven walls, as they were submitted by family members. If you would like information on adding a Veteran’s name to the wall, contact Pam Elliott at 220 Connally Street or 903-885-1080.
