The Ladies of Chrome Veteran Appreciation The Wrapping Of Charley W. Hylton Article by Cammie Bunch Photography by Deb Davis

Ladies Of Chrome Veteran Appretation!

The Wrapping Of Charley W. Hylton

Article by Cammie Bunch Photography by Deb Davis

On Saturday night, March 12, 2022, at 6:00 pm, the Veterans of Foreign Wars POST 8738 hosted an awards banquet. Across America, the initials VFW are a familiar sight and symbolize a commitment to the nation both at home and abroad. Their mission: “To foster camaraderie among United States Veterans of overseas conflicts. To serve our veterans, the military, and our communities. To advocate on behalf of all veterans.” At their annual banquet the VFW POST 8738 honored first responders, teachers, scholarship recipients, auxiliary members, comrades, volunteers, and one very special veteran. His Name is Charley W. Hylton. I had the honor of meeting with this extraordinary and brave man. Charley W. Hylton was born January 9, 1922, in Swordscreek, Virginia. He had 15 siblings. Charley enlisted in the Army on January 18, 1940, just nine days after he turned 18. His father was a coal miner, but Charley decided that coal mining was not for him so he joined the Army seeking better opportunities. His first assignment was with the 12th Infantry Division in Washington, DC assigned to Special Services at Arlington National Cemetery. Later he was assigned to Camp Jackson, now known as Fort Jackson, SC with the 8th Infantry Division. It was during this assignment he met and later married his first wife, Willye Grey Meetze. Charley and Willye had two children. He was reassigned from the 8th Infantry Division to the 77th Infantry Division where he ended up serving as a paratrooper. After training and qualifying to be a paratrooper at Fort Benning, GA, he was then sent to Brisbane, Australia where he served as a replacement in the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Charley sailed aboard The Monticello, a converted Italian liner, for 31 days to get to Brisbane, Australia. The ship had an excess of 4,500 personnel on board! While with the 503rd, he was assigned to “E” Company as they went first to Noemfoor and later Mindor. On February 16, 1945 Charley was one of 2,050 paratroopers who jumped onto Corregidor Island, Philippines as this was the first day of the Battle of Corregidor. The Battle of Corregidor was a conflict that lasted for 14 days which saw 210 American deaths, 790 wounded and 5 missing in action. The conflict finally ended on March 2, 1945 after Charley’s unit along with the 34th Infantry Division recaptured the island from the Japanese. Following the Battle of Corregidor, Charley went back to Mindora and then Negros, where he served as a Scout for his Platoon. In August of 1945 Charley was released at the rank of Tech Sgt, and began his journey home based on the point system. He was aboard a transport vessel on the way home (three days out of San Francisco), when the bomb ending the war was dropped on Hiroshima. Alas, the war was finally over. And Charley’s life journey continued. After returning home, Charley worked maintenance in a cotton mill for a while. He then started his own business in plumbing and electrical work from where he retired at the young age of 64. He and Edith, his wife of eighteen years, currently reside in West Columbia, SC. I had the pleasure of meeting Charley, a courageous Army veteran, Saturday evening at the VFW where he was awarded a Quilt of Valor. This quilt was handmade at the Quilt of Valor-Region 8. It is located in the old Library on Highway 601 in Saint Matthews, SC. A Quilt of Valor is a generous lap-sized quilt (minimum of 55” X 65”) made by a quilt-topper (the piecer) of quality fabrics and beautifully quilted by a longarmer. After it has been bound, washed, labeled and wrapped in a presentation case, it is ready to be awarded. Each quilt is even placed in a carrying case that is made from the remnants from American Flags that did not turn out correctly. This further symbolizes the patriotism of the American soldier. This ensures not a single American flag is ever wasted, burned, or trashed.

Quilts are awarded at many different levels: they may go to military hospitals where Chaplains award them to service members; there may be presentations of QOV’s to entire service units returning from combat deployments; they may be awarded at Veterans Administration’s or presented individually. However, no matter how a Quilt of Valor is given, the impact it delivers is unequivocal. The pictures do not do this ceremony and beauty of the quilt justice. And that is exactly what happened on Saturday, March 12. Charley was presented with a beautiful, one of a kind case containing an even more special and unique quilt. Four generations of Hylton’s and a packed banquet hall watched as Charley was wrapped in the most beautiful quilt I had ever seen before, tears and an overwhelming sense of pride filled the room for all and then again when they wrapped his wife with him. It was truly a humbling experience to be in the company of such a heroic man. He fought for our country and we fought to hold back the tears as we watched the presentation to thank him while deep down knowing it would never be enough. Charley, we thank you for your service!

Page Photography By Deb Davis

Bikers & Boats... We Love Our Toys!

Did You hear??

Gov. Henry McMaster signed the law on March 14th which establishes on most of SC’s major reservoirs a new 100-foot distance limit that boats underway must observe when approaching a dock, a person in the water or an anchored vessel. The new law, which doubles the previous distance of 50 feet, applies to the waters of Lake Greenwood, Lake Hartwell, Lake Jocassee, Lake Keowee, Lake Marion, Lake Monticello, Lake Murray, Lake Robinson, Lake Russell, Lake Secession, Lake Thurmond, Lake Wateree, Fishing Creek Reservoir, Parr Reservoir, or the portion of the Savannah River from the Interstate 20 Savannah River Bridge to the New Savannah River Bluff Lock and Dam. The 100-foot distance limit does not apply to Lake Moultrie. The new law also prohibits “wake surfing” on all South Carolina waters within 200 feet of a dock, a person in the water or an anchored watercraft. Wake surfing is defined in the new law as “a vessel that is ballasted in the stern so as to create a wake that is, or is intended to be, surfed by another person.” Col. A. Chisolm Frampton, SCDNR deputy director for law enforcement, said: “This is a much-needed change that will increase boating safety for all South Carolina boaters.”

Dixie Thunder SC-ABATE St. Patty's Day Fun Run

Page Photography by Grange Simons Lucas III

Life Is Too Short, Not To Enjoy The Ride

An inexperensed biker is riding a new motorcycle on the highway...

While passing a car, he knocks on the window. The driver of the car opens the window, "Yes?" "Ever driven a motorcycle?" "No I haven't."

The biker drives on, until he sees the next car. While passing it, he knocks on the window. The driver of the car opens the window: "Yes?" "Ever driven a motorcycle?" "No I haven't."

Then suddenly there is a curve, the biker sees it too late. He crashes off the road into a ditch. A car stops and a man runs to the unlucky biker. Covered in blood, the biker asks, "Ever driven a motorcycle?" "Yes I have, for 20 years." The biker says, "Tell me, where are the brakes?"

The Pope decides to take a cross-country tour across America, beginning in California and ending in New York... Somewhere in the Mid-West, the Popemobile breaks down, and while it’s repaired, the Pope continued his journey with a limousine rental. After a few hours, the limousine driver rolled down the glass partition, and spoke: “I know I’m not supposed to talk to you, your holiness, or highness - I’m not even sure what to call you?” “It’s okay, my son, say what you want to say.” “Well, when they told me who I’d be driving, I was really thrilled. It’s such an honor, and if there is anything I can do to make it a better trip, I’ll do my best to make sure it happens.” The Pope thought for a while, then replied, “You know, before I became Pope, I really enjoyed driving. I would drive for hours. But now, no one will allow me to drive anywhere. Would you mind if we switched places and I can drive?” The limousine driver agreed and the two switched places. After a while, the Pope became relaxed, turned the radio on, hung his arm out the window, and just enjoyed cruising. However, not aware of his increasing speed, he was soon pulled over by a motorcycle cop. The cop walked up to the limousine, saw who was driving, said, “Excuse me, your holiness, for a moment”, then returned to his bike and got on the radio. “Chief, I think I have a problem. I believe I pulled over someone pretty important, and I’m not sure how to deal with it.” The Chief responded: “Don’t tell me you pulled over a state representative again, Johnson?” “No, I think this person is more important.” “Not our Governor?!” “No, I believe more important than the Governor.” “Johnson, tell me you didn’t pull over a Presidential Motorcade.” “No, they may be even more important than the President.” “What? Really? Who’s more important than the President?” “Hell if I know, but the Pope’s driving.”

An engineering student is walking on campus one day when another engineer rides up on a shiny new motorcycle.

“Where did you get such a rocking bike?” asked the first.

The second engineer replied “Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, ‘Take what you want.'”

The first engineer nodded approvingly “Good choice, the clothes probably wouldn’t have fit!”