'It's never too late': Veteran receives military honors 43 years after his death
DEERSVILLE ‒ Forty-three years after he died, World War II veteran William Clyde Garner finally received the military honors that he never received at his funeral.
Garner, a native of Harrison County and a longtime barber in the village of Tuscarawas, served in the Solomon Islands and the Philippines during the war. For his service, he received four Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. He died Oct. 18, 1980.
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At the time of his death, his family couldn't find anyone to perform military services at his funeral. His great-grandson, Korben Spurlock, a member of the Ohio Army National Guard Honor Guard, recently set about to rectify the situation. He organized an event so that Garner would receive the honor he deserved for his service to his country.
Service held at Harrison County cemetery
The service was held Friday at Patterson-Union Cemetery in Deersville, a wind-swept graveyard on the edge of this small Harrison County community. The cemetery is full of reminders of the wars this country has been involved in, including a memorial to men from Deersville who died in the Civil War.
The Guernsey County Veterans Council Honor Guard provided a 21-gun salute, Taps was played and then Spurlock presented a folded flag to his grandfather, William Wesley Garner, who is William Clyde Garner's son. Pastor Lee Randolph of the Goshen Community Church of the Nazarene, who officiated at the elder Garner's funeral in 1980, spoke at the ceremony.
Several members of the family were present, including some of William Clyde Garner's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
Garner joined the Army in 1941 as a member of Company K, 148th Infantry Battalion, of the 37th Division. According to his son, Garner was the company barber, radio man and mostly served on point when his unit went into combat.
He served with several thousand other Ohioans who had been in the National Guard. They were known as "squirrel hunters."
"They were good guys out on point because they could see the Japanese snipers sometimes quicker than some of the other guys could because they were used to squirrel hunting in Ohio," his son said.
Wounded in action in the Philippines
Once while Garner was in the Philippines, he and two other comrades were missing in action behind Japanese lines for three days when their unit was overrun.
"Dad said he could remember the Japanese coming down the path, sticking bayonets in the brush, trying to locate where they were at," William Wesley Garner said.
Later, the elder Garner was caught in a crossfire and got hit twice. He was sent back to the United States for treatment and spent the rest of the war in Army hospitals. He got out of the service in 1946.
In later years, Garner contracted diabetes. He went blind and lost both of his legs, his son said.
His former pastor, Lee Randolph, remembers him well. He remembers him most for his spirit.
"He loved the Lord, deeply loved the Lord. I was there (at the church) six months before I knew he was blind and knew he had two wooden legs. He never let his problems in life take him down," Randolph said.
Spurlock said he was motivated to organize the service because growing up, he always heard his grandfather talking about how Garner never received military honors at his funeral.
"After joining the military and understanding what that meant, that always kind of bugged me," said Spurlock, who grew up in Tennessee but moved to Ohio last year when he and his wife had the chance to buy some land belonging to the family. "When I eventually moved to Ohio, I had the opportunity to join the Ohio Army National Guard Honor Guard full time as a full-time job. Once I did that, I had the opportunity to plan the service."
His grandfather, William Wesley Garner, was pleased with the results.
"I'm real happy. It's long overdue," he said.
Raising awareness about services available
Spurlock is hoping to use the event to let other people in the Tuscarawas Valley know that if they had a loved one who served in the military but never received military honors at their funeral that family members can request honors for their relative like his great-grandfather just received.
"It’s never too late to give a soldier what they are owed," he said.
For more information, contact the Ohio Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors at 614-551-9262 or at ng.oh.oharng.list.ohiomfh@mail.mil.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: William Clyde Garner receives military honors 43 years after death
