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Special ceremony dedicates Laton Hill Veterans Memorial
Don had a "dream" of a local memorial with not only his father's name, but the names of all veterans of all armed services from the Laton Hill community. He and a friend, Elvis Hennis, whose father was also a veteran, decided to work toward a veterans' memorial. On Saturday, August 11, that dream became a reality when a monument with the names of Laton Hill's veterans was unveiled with a formal dedication ceremony on property donated to the memorial committee by the Laton Hill Baptist Church. For many years up until recent times, residents of Laton Hill had a State Line, Miss. mailing address; therefore, as far as military records were concerned, the men who served from that community were listed in Mississippi. Both Don's and Elvis's fathers, though they resided in Washington County, would never be listed on an Alabama memorial anywhere.
The military guest speaker was Probate Judge Charles Singleton who has an extensive military background himself. Singleton began his duty with the Rangers where he graduated from jump school; served in the 20th Special Forces, and last served with the 226th support group, retiring with 35 years active service. The judge was deployed to Kuwait for one year. Singleton said that it was the young men, 19 and 20 years old upon whom the "fate of the free world rested in World War II." Choking back emotion, he said, "They came from communities like Laton Hill, State Line, Yarbo, and others."
The memorial committee members were Greg Laton - president, Don Laton - secretary, treasurer, Cynthia Williams, David Allen and Elvis Hennis. Financing for the Laton Hill Veterans Memorial was raised solely from private donations.
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