KIA veterans, sheriffs to be honored Dec. 7

Pike County American Legion Post 197 will honor four inductees into the Pike County Memorial Annex during a special ceremony set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Pike County Auditorium. This year’s inductees will include two Pike County law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty, sheriffs Thomas Jefferson Slade (1892) and William Oren Gwyn (1896), and Pike County’s only known Korean War killed in action military, Privates First Class Johnnie Cornelius Alexander and Earl Coggin. Each hero will be honored with a shadow box that contains his military or sheriff’s photo, a one to two-page biography, graphics showing the operations conducted and leading up to his death, copies of organizational crests, shoulder patches, rank and awards. During the Induction Ceremony program, the four inductee’s biographies will be read, and the shadow box of each Inductee will be unveiled. The class of 2019 will join 21 other previous Inductees. The Slade, Gwyn, Alexander, and Coggin families will be guests of honor. The Pike County community is invited to attend this ceremony in honor of these four Pike County heroes and their families, and increase their knowledge of Pike County history and the Korean War. The Pike County Memorial Annex will be open for all attendees after the program.The Pike County American Legion Family and the Pike County Sheriff’s Officer will co-host the 2019 Pike County Induction Ceremony.