Darlington honors veterans: Charles Kimbrell received his ROTC commission at the University of Georgia. He was called to active duty in May 1942 and assigned to the 6th U. S. Cavalry, Third Army. He served in the European Theatre of Operations and was involved in all five major campaigns in World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge, and landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, three days after D-Day. He is a highly decorated veteran, having received two Bronze Stars for Valor and France’s Croix de Guerre etoile d’argent. Additionally, he was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, the American Theatre Medal, the America Defense Medal, the European Theatre Medal with five stars, the Battle of the Bulge Medal, and the Occupation Europe Medal. He retired with the rank of major.
Kimbrell earned his AB and JD degrees from the University of Georgia. He practiced law in Miami, Fla. for 42 years before retiring to Rome in 1988.
Always active in civic affairs, Kimbrell was president of the Orange Bowl committee in 1981–82. His involvement in the Rome community includes membership on the Board of Governors of the Heart of the Community, serving as chair in 1994; a founder and member of the Board of Directors of Good Neighbor Ministries; member of the Board of Directors of the Floyd Health Care Foundation; president for five years and emeritus member of the Board of Governors of the University of Georgia Foundation; member of Rome Rotary Club, the 1993 SPLOST Committee; and the Board of Directors of the South Rome Redevelopment Corporation. He is a Heart of the Community Award honoree and was named 2002 Volunteer of the Year by Floyd Health Care Foundation. He is a member and Elder of First Presbyterian Church.
Kimbrell and his wife, Esther, have six children and 17 grandchildren. Eight members of their family are Darlington graduates.
November 11, 2003 | 238 views
Keynote speaker Charles A. Kimbrell
Charles A. Kimbrell will present the keynote address as part of one activity in a full day of events at Darlington School to commemorate Veteran’s Day, on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The day will begin with a Chapel service at 9 a.m. in the Morris Chapel on the Upper School campus to specially honor those alumni who served in our nation’s military.
Following the U.S. Marine Reserve Corps Color Guard’s presentation of the colors and Craig Schmidt’s, history department chair, explanation of the significance of the national holiday, Kimbrell, a highly decorated veteran, will give the keynote address. Co-presidents of the "Y" Cabinet, seniors Alex Wysocki and Whitney Smith will lead the prayers. Benji White, senior, will lead the hymns.
W. Gordon Neville Jr., a graduate of the Class of 1955 and associate headmaster and dean of students will reads the names of those alumni who, to the School’s knowledge, were killed while honorably defending their country in war.
After the service, the entire Upper School will walk to Myrtle Hill Cemetery on South Broad Street for a special ceremony commemorating the city of Rome’s own fallen heroes. The Darlington School Band and Concert Choir will perform there in addition to the Model High School Band as Rome marks the 80th anniversary of the Known Solider Memorial. This memorial is the final resting place of Charles Graves, who was killed in France during World War I and honored by being buried at Arlington National Cemetery until his mother demanded that her son be returned home to Rome.
After returning to campus, the student body and faculty members will take part in a panel discussion led by veterans from many different wars, 2-3:15 p.m. in the Huffman Memorial Athletic Center. Max Hinton and Lydie White, seniors; Ecko Steadman, junior; Wil Tucker, sophomore; and Brett Henson, freshman will pose questions to General Michael Alexander, Korean War and Vietnam War; Frank Barron Jr., Korean War; Frank Barron III, Desert Storm I; Rick Graham ’61, Vietnam War; Glover Hogg ’35, World War II; David Hunter ’65, Vietnam War; and Harold Storey, World War II.
“The purpose of the program this year is to recapture the original intent of the holiday,” David Hicks, School president, said. “National holidays have become largely ‘days off’ usually spent watching football games on television, hanging out with friends, picnicking and playing. The history and meaning of these holidays are largely lost on the rising generation. We are a school and bear some responsibility for teaching these things.”
President Hicks also hopes to use the occasion to reconnect with Darlington’s veterans to learn from their wisdom and experience. He pointed out that the School is currently trying to fully reconstruct a list of those alumni who have died in defense of America’s freedoms. There used to be a plaque that honored these individuals when Wilcox Hall was called Old Main, but that during the renovations there it was lost. Hicks hopes that with the help of veteran alumni, these names can be found again and the School can find a suitable way to memorialize these heroes.
A Time for Remembrance
We remember Darlington alumni on this Veteran's Day who, to our knowledge, died while in active military service to the United States of America during time of war. Please report to the Alumni Office any omissions.
Graham McRae Allen ’38
World War II
Joe Cannon ’34
World War II
William Oscar Colley ’38
Active Service
William L. “Bill” Covington ’61
Vietnam
Henry Cleve Cox Jr. ’43
World War II
James Webb DuBose ’38
World War II
John Hicks Dumas ’38
World War II
Julius Wilson Dunn ’37
World War II
Thomas Baylis Earle ’34
World War II
Griff Morgan Eldridge ’31
World War II
John H. Floyd ’57
Active Service
Leith Halloway Garrou ’37
World War II
John Duff Gayman ’63
Vietnam
Harry Linwood Hicks ’22
World War II
Bennett Holt ’40
Active Service
Thomas R. Horton ’46
Korea
Z. Frank Jackson ’40
World War II
Willard Henry James ’34
World War II
Lawson Jaquith ’30
World War II
Halcott Pride Jones Jr. ’63
Vietnam
Owen Earl Kirkland ’36
World War II
Richard Alvis “Jimmy” May ’38
World War II
Paul Presley McCain ’40
World War II
Robert Douglas McKenzie ’27
World War II
Fred Hall McLean ’33
World War II
Joseph Harrison Mull Jr. ’40
World War II
William Shepard Nicholson Jr. ’34
World War II
William Franklin Norris ’34
World War II
Paul Aaron Parker ’39
World War II
Virginius Boddie Perry ’40
World War II
Oliver William Porter ’42
World War II
Beverly Sampson Royster III ’37
World War II
Henry Grady Smith ’38
World War II
William Frederick Snoots ’16
World War I
Douglas Motte Soule ’38
World War II
Bernard Washington Spilman ’39
World War II
Jack Dennis Trimpi ’40
Active Service
William T. Turner Jr. ’37
World War II
George Andrew Wagner ’30
World War II
Jere Asmond Wells Jr. ’35
Active Service
Charles Harden Whitfield ’40
World War II
John Dudley Wiley ’54
Active Service
Joseph G. Wilson ’61
Vietnam
William Warfield Wyatt ’37
World War II
