The Army
posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor.
Back in the United States, Clifford's wife, Mary,
prepared for her
life without her mate.
George's wife, Mattie, waited for her husband to come home.
He
returned later that year and became a drill sergeant at Fort
Campbell.
Two years later he retired.
Mattie died in 2000, and George thought he would spend the rest
of his life alone.
But this is where the story turns and then comes full circle for
George.
And for the woman who lost Clifford to a war.
Earlier this year, George heard that Clifford's widow was searching
for some of the men who served with her husband in Vietnam.
She
wanted to hear their stories.
She wanted to connect with someone
who never forgot.
Through Mary and Clifford's daughter, Gina Townsend, who
resides in Georgia,
George learned about Mary's quest for some
connection.
Gina posted a message on the "Delta Raiders" Web
page and said she and her mother
wanted to meet some of the men
who knew her father.
George saw the message and responded.
Later, he called Mary,
59, at her home in Fayetteville, N.C.
"George called me at home before my daughter even told me
that
she had given out my phone number," Mary said.
One telephone call turned into another. And another.
And
eventually George's phone bill was getting out of hand.
In one
month, he spent $281 on long distance charges.
George and Mary agreed to meet. During the Fourth of July
holiday,
he drove to Fayetteville and took pictures of Clifford to
show Mary.
"He had pictures that we had never seen," Mary said.
After he returned to Hopkinsville, George kept calling Mary.
And
she called him.
Every morning, ever day at lunch when she took a
break from the hairdresser's shop in her home,
every evening
before he went into work as a night security guard.
And they fell in love.
In August, George asked Mary to marry him.
"He asked me on the phone, and I held my breath for a minute,
and
then I said I would have to think about and pray about it," Mary
said.
George says it's hard to explain a long distance romance.
"I just know something hit me and I asked her to marry me," he
said.
Mary eventually said yes, and George drove to North Carolina.
On Oct. 18, their wedding day, George gave Mary a dozen fuschia
roses.
She carried one to the courthouse for the wedding.
She
wore a yellow suit. He wore a blue suit.
Mary became George's bride and returned to Hopkinsville with
him.
Now, George is adjusting to life with his new wife.
He's been
rearranging the pictures and framed Army medals he keeps on his
den wall.
He needs to make room for the
Medal of Honor that
Clifford earned after he died in Vietnam.
Because men like George never forget.
This article appeared November 11, 2002
in the Kentucky New Era newspaper, Hopkinsville, KY
and was written
By JENNIFER P. BROWN jpbrown@kentuckynewera.com
On that day, Feb. 21, 1968
Sgt. Sims won the Congressional Medal of Honor
Sgt. Hooper won the Congressional Medal of Honor
SFC. Parker won the Silver Star
Sgt. Mount, yours truly, and others, won the Bronze Star
It was an honor to fight side by side with these brave men.