Norphlet church honors fallen soldiers
In honor of Memorial Day, Norphlet United Methodist Church has placed several U.S. flags on its property in dedication to several Norphlet soldiers who have died while in the armed forces.
According to Doug Long, the flags honor the following soldiers, who each had Norphlet connections:
• Pvt. Henry Gene Pannell, U.S. Army was killed in action in 1942 in Luzon Island.
• Ensign Alvin Lycester Varnado, naval aviator, was killed in a plane crash in the Southwest Pacific on April 20, 1943. The young flier was in combat for some seven months before his death. Varnado moved to Norphlet at the age of 7 and graduated from Norphlet High School in 1936.
• Sgt. Charles Cain, Norphlet native, went missing in action over Hungary while flying a B-24 Liberator. Cain was with the 15th Army Air Force in Italy and had only been overseas a short time. He attended Norphlet High School before moving to Texas with his family.
• Staff Sgt. Albert Evans was killed in Germany. The Norphlet native had served for years before Pearl Harbor and was sent overseas in August 1944.
• Sgt. J.T. Keith, Jr., was killed in action over Germany. Keith had lived in Norphlet for most of his life, attending Norphlet High School and Norphlet Baptist Church. He was a member of the 15th Air Force based in Italy and completed at least 30 missions as a gunner on a Flying Fortress. He was known as “Rebel Jimmie.”