GREENWOOD, South Carolina – Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. was inducted into the Greenwood and Laurens Counties Hall of Heroes Nov. 4 in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Beagle was asked to be part of the annual ceremony by Laurens County Veterans County Veterans Service Officer Carey Bolt.
“Today is about honoring the heroes who have served our country,” said Bolt during the ceremony. “We are all family here… a military family.”
Bolt, a retired Army sergeant first class, started the Hall of Heroes in 2004 as a way to honor Veterans from Laurens County. Several years later, Greenwood County joined Laurens County and the ceremony has grown to an annual event at Lander University in Greenwood.
Beagle, who is from Enoree, S.C., and graduated from South Carolina State, also participated in inducting 46 other Veterans from Greenwood and Laurens Counties that included 101-year-old Paul O’dell, a World War II Veteran.
“When you think about heroes, I don’t think anyone that has worn the cloth of our nation really looks at themselves as heroes,” said Beagle. “It’s hard to wrap your arms around that, but it is very much appreciated by myself and the other Veterans that were inducted.”
When Beagle first presented the idea of joining the Army to his Mother at the age of 17, he was met with an initial no from her because she wanted him to go to college. While at South Carolina State, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps and after 33 years of service, he is now an official member of the Greenwood and Laurens Counties Hall of Heroes with other Veterans from two small counties in South Carolina.
“The purpose that I have by wearing a uniform for our nation is service to the nation,” said Beagle. “There is 0.01 percent of our nation that served [in the military]. Service members take an oath to an idea and a set of ideals that represent the American public, and that is our purpose. There is no more ultimate purpose than to serve your country.”
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