'The whole city erupted in gunfire'

Caught in the chaos of Mogadishu, this soldier found faith

May 19, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer



Jeff Struecker is an Army Ranger.
He is trained to go where other men will not — and to get there first. That is because “Rangers lead the way.”
One of the far-flung locales around the world where Americans have gone to bleed and die for freedom is the desert wasteland of Mogadishu, Somalia.
There, along the Eastern rim of Africa, Struecker and other elite troops once fought desperately for their lives. In one long afternoon and night, from Sunday, Oct. 3, 1993, to Monday, Oct. 4, fewer than 100 soldiers fought like wolves and held off an angry, swarming city of 1.5 million souls.
Jeff Struecker was one of the wolves that night — the mission is recounted in the popular movie and book “Black Hawk Down” — though he hardly felt the part of the savage warrior for so many of those haunting moments.
He was already a veteran of conflicts in Panama and Iraq (serving in Desert Storm), but throughout those fights, he had known no real fear.
But Somalia proved an altogether different kind of beast.
“It seemed like the whole city erupted in gunfire,” he said Friday.
Driving down dirt streets darkened with the blood of his own men, Jeff Struecker learned the true meaning of fear. He struggled with it and overcame it — with a little help from a pretty big friend.
It’s this friend who Struecker — author of the book “The Road to Unafraid” — spoke of Friday evening at the Greenwood Family YMCA during the inaugural Greenwood and Lakelands Area Armed Forces Tribute.
Through the chaos, Struecker’s friend calmed the stormy, sandy sea.
A new Ranger, Todd Blackburn, was down, and Dominick Pilla — a popular soldier among the Task Force Ranger troops — had just been killed. Then Michael Durant’s Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in the city.
The mission so expertly planned had gone ill so quickly.
Struecker had survived the initial madness, but he was ordered to go back in.
His first thoughts bordered on the unthinkable.
He could not go back in there.
Struecker had just learned through a letter from his wife that she was pregnant. After years of hoping, they were finally going to have a baby. This is the same woman he had told they would have to postpone their wedding day so that he could go and fight Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
So she married him back home in Iowa before he could even leave.
That woman was the love of his life.
He could not go back in there.
So for a moment he went to his big friend instead, during his only refuge that day as the bullets flew — in prayer.
“God, I’m in big trouble here,” he prayed. “I need your help.”
At that moment, Struecker told the Armed Forces Tribute crowd that something changed inside of him. He realized that his life was not in his own hands.
And while he had been a born-again Christian since the age of 13, Struecker became a changed man right then and there in Mogadishu, Somalia. He understood the meaning of a faith he could not lose.
Nearby, another Ranger faltered in the heat, sweat and blood of the moment. Brad Thomas could not go back, either.
“We’re all scared here,” Struecker told him. “The real difference between a hero and a coward is not fear, but what you do when you’re afraid.”
Both men did what so many heroes did that day — they went back in there.
Somehow, that was 14 years ago.
These days Struecker is still interested in the souls of Army Rangers.
As an Army chaplain, it’s now his job to minister to them.
He tells them about what it means to live and die, and about surrendering to his friend, Jesus Christ, and the meaning of what it takes to really be free.
“Each and every one of us is born with an incurable disease. This disease is the disease of sin,” Struecker said. “If our very freedom were in danger tonight, many of us do not know what we would do if faced with that. But real freedom is not filled in our military might, but in Jesus Christ.”
Following Struecker’s powerful message, plenty of uplifting musical selections and flag-waving, one last treat remained.
There was a young man in the crowd who had his eyes on the Ranger the guest speaker has become. Ed Moore, who attended Greenwood Christian Academy and Lander University, was a college ROTC cadet.
Friday evening he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. In September he will begin advanced officer’s training.
“It was inspiring to be able to hear (Struecker) speak tonight,” Moore said before his parents — Archie and Glenda Moore — helped pin on his new rank, his brothers standing close by. “I definitely want to go to Ranger school.”
Moore wants to be an elite, airborne Army Ranger.
He wants to train to be one of the wolves.
One of those very men stood nearby with a huge grin on his face, already possessing exactly what Moore hopes to earn himself.
Moore knows that it’s possible — every bit of it.
A Ranger named Jeff Struecker has already led the way.

New industry coming

Mathson to bring automotive-components plant to Hodges

May 19, 2007

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

A new industry is opening its doors in Greenwood County.
Mathson Industries, in association with the Greenwood Partnership Alliance, Upstate Alliance and the S.C. Department of Commerce, announced Friday the opening of a manufacturing facility in Hodges. Mathson provides design, engineering and manufacturing of automotive components and systems.
Mathson, which was founded in 1995 by Boney Mathew, will invest $5 million in a new facility in Hodges and bring 50 jobs to the area.
The company produces plastic, ceramic and metal injection molded components and systems for the automotive industry.
Mathson will supply components for BMW and will be the first supplier to the German automaker in Greenwood County. BMW currently has 50 suppliers in South Carolina.
The event was announced in a ceremony Friday at the Solutions Technology building on Highway 25.
Those in attendance included numerous local politicians, business people and local media.
Mathew addressed the crowd at the announcement.
“I believe in this county, if we work as a team, we can bring more technology-oriented companies here,” Mathew said. “And I mean diversified. Not just automotive, but bio-medical and other sectors such as aerospace. I believe in this county.
“I have seen the people and that is why I am here.
Mathew was straight forward on the Mathson’s team concept and what it will do in the area.
“I believe, as a team, we are going to kick some (expletive deleted) in this county,” Mathew said to laughter and a rousing round of applause.
Mathson’s headquarters are in Michigan, and the company has operations in Germany, too. The company has developed 12 patented and patent pending technologies.
County council chairman Robbie Templeton explained why he thinks the establishment of a BMW supplier in Greenwood is significant.
“BMW prefers its tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers to be within 30 miles of its (Greenville area) plant, which Greenwood is not,” Templeton said. “We hope that Mathson will be just the first in a series of BMW suppliers to see that the mileage is insignificant and make Greenwood their home.”
Gov. Mark Sanford also lauded the announcement via a written statement.
“Today’s announcement is further evidence that our efforts to improve the economic soil conditions for business growth are paying dividends in terms of job creation, opportunity and investment,” Sanford said. “As BMW’s presence grows, so do the opportunities, both directly and indirectly, as is the case today with Mathson bringing jobs to a new area of the state.”

Emerald's top grads ready for more

May 19, 2007

By JESSICA SMOAKE
Index-Journal intern

Most high school seniors are nervous about their impending graduation from high school and moving on into the “real world.”
This is not the case for Emerald High School valedictorian Travis Rapp and salutatorian Robert Woolston. Both students are more than ready to make the journey to independence.
“I will miss my friends, but I am ready for a change of scenery,” said Rapp, who received a full Navy ROTC scholarship to attend Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Duke is the only school to which the prospective civil engineering major applied.
“I knew that was where I wanted to go,” Rapp said.
Rapp is a member of the Interact Club, Beta Club and National Honor Society, and he played for the Emerald High School golf team.
“My favorite high school memory is going to state championships with the golf team,” said Rapp, who is also an Eagle Scout.
Woolston will be attending Kansas State University — also on a full scholarship. He hopes to major in economics. He also applied to Clemson and the University of South Carolina.
“I am really excited to be in a new place without anyone that I know,” he said. “I can’t wait to meet new people.”
Woolston found time to be involved in high school sports and clubs while staying focused on his schoolwork. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the Vikings’ baseball and basketball teams.
“I am also very involved in the youth group at First Presbyterian Church,” he said.
Every student has one class in high school that was the most challenging. Woolston remembers Honors Physical Science as his most difficult class.
“It was the first class that I had ever taken as a freshman in high school,” he said. “I was still making the transition from middle school to high school.”

Champ comes to town

Larry Holmes pays visit
to Ninety Six Elementary School

May 19, 2007

By RENALDO STOVER
Index-Journal sports writer



NINETY SIX — The students at Ninety Six Elementary School had a famous visitor walk into the school’s cafeteria Friday to spend some time with them and talk about physical fitness, positive attitudes and making wise decisions.
Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, who finished his boxing career with 69 wins (44 knockouts) and only 6 losses, towered over the students who were not even born when he captured the WBC title on June 8, 1978, in Las Vegas by defeating Ken Norton.
When asked by a student, Holmes said it was his hardest fight ever.
That’s saying a lot when talking about a man who also fought Muhammad Ali, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield during his boxing career.
Holmes’ place in boxing history is undeniable. In addition to his 17 title defenses as WBC champion, which include a TKO against Ali in 1980, Holmes also defended the IBF title three times during his career.
Holmes said he wanted to express to the young students that they have an opportunity to succeed no matter what their background might be as long as they make the right decisions.
‘It’s a shame, too, because they have opportunities no matter if you’re a boxing champ, a football champ, a celebrity or whatever,” Holmes said. “You can always shine a little light on somebody. We’re today; these kids are tomorrow.”
Holmes said he enjoyed his time with the students, which included plenty of laughs as the champion showed off his jump-rope skills that he said not only increased his footwork as a boxer, but was a form of stress relief.
In addition to the students taking part in the jump-rope exercises, a few of the Ninety Six instructors joined in as well as the students cheered them on.
“It was great today,” Holmes said. “Last time I was here, I told them I would show them how to jump rope. They’ve been gung-ho ever since.”
With everyone enjoying themselves, Holmes’ message always came back to making the right decisions.
“It’s all about education,” Holmes said. “Stay away from the gangs, because that’s what’s killing our kids today. They get in the gangs and get into the wrong things and then the next thing you know, they get thrown into the hole.
“I tell them all the time. You know if I teach it at home, you know I’m going to teach it here.”
Holmes’ ties to the Lakelands are through Paul Kennemore, of Greenwood, who met Holmes in the early 1970s and befriended him soon after. Kennemore served on the state boxing commission in South Carolina for 28 years and has been a boxing fan from the moment he watched Ali capture a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics.
“I first met Larry about 30 or 40 years ago while at Ali’s training camp in Deer Lake, Pennsylvania,” Paul said. “When I walked in the gym I went to see Ali work out because he was my hero at the time. That was when he was making his comeback.”
Kennemore said he couldn’t help but notice Holmes, Ali’s sparring partner, and was surprised by his skill in the ring. After the sparring session between Ali and Holmes ended, Kennemore said he was surprised by what happened next.
“While I was waiting on Ali to come back out to sign autographs, I had my head down and Larry came over shadowboxing and throwing left jabs and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Larry Holmes, the next heavyweight champion of the world,’” Paul said. “I said, ‘I know.’”
Holmes laughed when giving his version of how the two met at the gym that day.
“I raised Paul up,” Holmes said. “He was a little-bitty kid trying to get an autograph from Muhammad Ali and he didn’t pay him no mind. I was the only one left and I said, Man, what’s up?’ We hung out and got to talking and I said ‘You talk kind of funny man, where’re you from?’ He told me where he was from, we exchanged numbers and ever since we’ve been friends.”
While so much time has passed, it’s surprising at first to think that two people from different backgrounds and with so many miles between them have remained close.
“He became friends with my mom first,” Holmes said. “A lot of times when he called I wasn’t home. My mom would say this guy called and he’s from South Carolina. I told her he was my little brother.”
“We’re closer now than we ever have been,” Paul said. “He calls me his brother and he introduces me as his brother and he means it. I’m thankful for that, because he’s done a lot for me and those around me.”
Those around Kennemore include the students at Ninety Six Elementary where his wife, Stuart Kennemore, teaches third grade. Stuart said Holmes has helped bolster the learning experience for the students at Ninety Six Elementary through various donations.
“I mentioned to his wife, Diane, that I would really love to have a SMART Board,” Stuart said. “Larry generously gave us the money to buy the SMART Board, a projector, a laptop and a printer/scanner for the classroom.”
The SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that hooks up to a computer. Stuart said that it is a great substitute for a regular board or overhead projector.
“It gives the children a chance to learn in an interactive sort of way with it being new technology,” Stuart said. “Since then, the other classes have gotten a similar board, so we now have several in the building, and it’s a new way to teach. It gets all the children involved and they get really excited when we use it. There are just so many things we can do with the SMART Board. It’s just really a wonderful learning tool and it makes learning a lot of fun for the kids.”

Obituaries

LaBrentha Barlow

LaBrentha Barlow died Friday, May 18, 2007, at University Hospital in Augusta, Ga.
The family is at the home of a sister Lena Moore, 111-D Pinetree Apartments.
Services will be announced by Parks Funeral Home.

Talmadge Eugene ‘Boo-Boo’ Carr

ABBEVILLE — Talmadge Eugene “Boo-Boo” Carr, 39, of 142 Mill Road (Woodlawn Park), Abbeville, SC, husband of Mary Louise Blackwell Carr, died Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood, SC.
He was the son of Mary Carr Cain and the late Jessie Carr, Sr. He attended Dixie High School and was employed by McWhorters Cleaning Contracting Services of Greenwood, SC, for twenty-five years.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one daughter, Daffinee Blackwell, also of the home; one son, Talmadge LeVert Crawford of Abbeville, SC; six stepchildren, Chaquita Mattison, Jamal Mattison and Shanessa Mattison of the home, Dale Conner and Crystal Conner of Abbeville, SC, and Alicia Dotson of Anderson, SC; two brothers, Jessie Eugene Carr, Jr. of Abbeville, SC, and Robert Carr of Norfolk, VA; one sister, Jacqueline Hackett of Greenwood, SC; six aunts, Mattie Hill of St. Augustine, NY, Alto Mae Wharton of Jamaica, NY, Estelle Davis and Rosia B. Clardy of Due West, SC and Mary D. Carr of Abbeville, SC, and Rosa Bell Dubose of Liberty, SC; four uncles, David Carr of Jamaica, NY, Timothy Ware and David Riley of Abbeville, SC and William T. Lomax of Belton, SC; three step-grandchildren.
Services will be Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 2 p.m. at Mt. Lebanon A.M.E. Church in Due West, SC, with Rev. Willie James Choice presiding and Rev. Clinton Hall, II officiating. Rev. Mary Paul and Rev. Donnie Kennedy are assisting.
Public viewing will be Saturday, May 19, 2007 from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. Chapel.
The body will be placed in church at 1 p.m. Burial is in the church cemetery.
The family is at the home.
Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences can be made at awmort@wctel.net.

Lamont Rydell Johnson

LOCUST GROVE, Ga. — Lamont Rydell Johnson, 36, husband of Karen Talbert Johnson, died Thursday, May 17, 2007, at Henry County Medical Center.
The family is at the home of his mother, Daisy Ann Johnson, Pine Grove Road, Plum Branch, S.C.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick, S.C.

Marion Jean McKinney

Memorial service for Marion Jean McKinney will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at Harley Funeral Home Chapel, with the Reverend Byron Jones officiating.
Marion Jean Watkins McKinney, 62, of 726 Fairforest Road, Lot 10, wife of Douglas Luther McKinney, Sr., died Thursday, May 17, 2007 at Loris Community Hospital.
Born in Greenwood, she was a daughter of the late George A. and Ruby Farmer Watkins. Mrs. McKinney was a homemaker and a member of Refiners Fire Church, where she was a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association.
Surviving in addition to her husband of the home are a son, Douglas Luther McKinney, Jr. of Greenwood; three sisters, Mary Watkins Pinson of Greenville, Teresa Winsee and Jackie Beachem, both of Greenwood; a brother, Danny Watkins of Greenwood; one grandchild; and two great-grandchildren.
Online condolences may be sent to the McKinney family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Edgar Wardlaw Sr.

ABBEVILLE — Edgar Wardlaw Sr., 83, of 106 Orange St., husband of Gladys Wardlaw, died Thursday, May 17, 2007 at Richard M. Campbell Veterans Home in Anderson.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc.

Lessie Mae Ware

CALHOUN FALLS — Lessie Mae Ware, 67, of 118 Edgewood Circle, Calhoun Falls, SC, died Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at her home. She was the wife of Willie Joe Ware of Calhoun Falls, SC. She was born in Lincolnton, GA, to the late Sam George and the late Mary Lou Norman Thomas.
She was retired from Burlington Industries in Calhoun Falls, SC.
Survivors include her husband of Calhoun Falls; three daughters, Ruby Ware, Brenda Felima and Shirley Johnson of Calhoun Falls, SC; three sons, Willie Joe Ware of Brooklyn, NY, Henry Ware of Calhoun Falls, SC, and Johnny Ware of Abbeville, SC; seven sisters, Rosa Tutt, Mary Ann Lee, Bobbie Lewis of Calhoun Falls, SC, Bessie Stoke, Mary Drive, Lillie Williams and Lillian Thomas, all of Miami, FL; five brothers, Clifford Thomas, Braxton Richardson of Calhoun Falls, SC, Gene Thomas and Sam Thomas of Miami, FL, and Frank Thomas of Baltimore, MD; two aunts, Mae Norman of Boston, MA, and Johnnie Mae Norman of Madison, FL; two uncles, F.M. Norman of Miami, FL, and Isaac Norman of Calhoun Falls, SC; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be Sunday, May 20, 2007 at the Youth Crusade Evangelistic Center in Promised Land, SC, at 3 p.m., with Pastor Rosa Childs presiding, Minister Bobby Childs officiating. Assisting are Pastor Peggie Ware Zellars, Rev. Brenda Lomax, Minister Lee Gaskins, Minister Alice Gaskins and Bishop James Ware. Interment will be in the Evening Star Cemetery, Greenwood, SC. The body will be placed in church at 2 p.m.
Public viewing will be on Saturday, May 19, 2007 from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Abbeville &White Mortuary, Inc. Abbeville, SC.
The family is at her home.
Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. Abbeville, SC, is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences can be made at awmort@wctel.net.

Maggie Williams

HONEA PATH — Maggie Williams, 94, died Friday, May 18, 2007 at AnMed Health Medical Center.
The family is at the home of her daughter Mrs. Johnny (Bertha) Tucker, 109 Mount Nebo Road, Honea Path.
Services will be announced by Robinson-Walker Funeral Service, Ware Shoals.

Woody Woodhurst

ABBEVILLE — Woody H. Woodhurst, 71, of Abbeville, husband of Teresa Horton Woodhurst, died suddenly on Thursday, May 17, 2007 at Abbeville Area Medical Center. He was born May 16, 1936 in Abbeville to the late Claude H. Woodhurst, Sr. and Mayzelle Argo Woodhurst Bell. Woody was a United States Navy Veteran, having served in Vietnam aboard the USS Yorktown. He was truly a devoted Abbeville County civil serviceman. Woody has served and protected Abbeville County through the Abbeville County and City Police Departments for over 35 years of his life. He started as a reserve officer in the early 70’s and May 17, 2007 when God called him home he was currently a reserve officer for Abbeville County Sheriff Department. Woody was a member of the S.C. Law Enforcement Association.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his stepfather, Thomas J. Bell, and two brothers, Charles L. Woodhurst and Thomas J. Bell, Jr.
Surviving Woody is his wife, Teresa of the home; three daughters, Katie Jo Woodhurst of the home, Teresa W. Freeman and her husband, Phillip of Simpsonville, and Amy Willoughby and her husband, Tony of Lowndesville; a son, Scotty “Little Woody” Woodhurst and his wife, Angie of Hodges; eight grandchildren, Amanda Lane of Simpsonville, Jamie Hazel and her husband, Matt of Fountain Inn, Tyler Lane, Austin Freeman, both of Simpsonville, Kayla Woodhurst of Donalds, Zach Woodhurst of Hodges, Devin and Emily Willoughby of Lowndesville; a great-granddaughter, Tatum Lane of Simpsonville. Woody is gone but will not be forgotten by his best friends, Bubba Stone, Bob Brewer and the car lot boys.
The family will receive friends from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 20, 2007 at Harris Funeral Home. Funeral services, conducted by the Rev. James Long, will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, 2007 in the funeral home chapel. Burial will follow in Long Cane Cemetery with military honors.
The family is at his residence.
Memorial contributions in memory of Woody Woodhurst may be sent to the American Cancer Society, 231 Hampton Ave., Suite 3, Greenwood, SC 29648 or to the American Legion Post 2 Building Fund, PO Box 853, Abbeville, SC 29620.
Online condolences may be sent to the Woodhurst family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com.
Harris Funeral Home of Abbeville is assisting the Woodhurst family.

Opinion

Margaret Flynn Bowie ... ... a remarkable legacy

May 19, 2007

You could search forever and never find anyone more devoted to the general welfare of the people of Abbeville, and indeed all of South Carolina, than Mrs. Margaret Flynn Bowie. Nor could you find anyone who had more of an impact - positive impact - on countless numbers of people in countless numbers of ways.
Mrs. Bowie died Wednesday at 97, a long life, to be sure, but the imprint she left during her time on earth will live much longer.
The lives of the many people she touched are testaments, too, to the positive effect she had in so many ways on everyone and everything around her. Mrs. Bowie’s record of service, in almost every respect, reflects a life of caring that is too often missing in today’s world. In short, she cared, about people in every walk of life, the community and state she called home, and she did whatever it took to improve the quality of life in every way possible.
Her family, faith and church were integral to her devotion and service, as were history, civic affairs, and everything in-between ..... as long as it benefited others. Not to be overlooked, she received numerous awards for enhancing the lives of so many people, including many she did not know. Nevertheless, she was not about awards and recognition. Mrs. Bowie did things for others, not herself.
That just may be the most important and memorable legacy of this remarkable lady.