PAOLA — Miami County combat veterans will be honored on Memorial Day with the unveiling of a monument to 20 men who earned the highest medals awarded by America and her allies. Osawatomie’s awardees include Ray Conklin, Ernest Jones and Cecil Prentice. Retired Brig. Gen. Dan Karr will conduct the ceremony at the Miami County Veterans Memorial Monday at 1. Retired Navy master chief Terry Scott, formerly of Louisburg, will be keynote speaker. The Osawatomie Journal reports that a special program has been printed to include a history of those to be honored. Conklin was a Navy aviator who served in the South Pacific during World War II. He was killed in a training accident in 1952 in Nevada before going to Korea. Jones was in a U.S. Army artillery unit and landed on Utah Beach and participated in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Prentice was a B-24 navigator who served in the skies over Europe during during World War II.
Thursday, May 26, 6:30 a.m.
