McKinney, Texas - The portraits of three Collin County men and one woman who died in the service of our country will be presented for permanent display at 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 8, 2015, in the main lobby of the Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney. The fourth installment ceremony of the Collin County Fallen Warrior Portrait Project will add to the existing 18 portraits that have already been presented. The goal of the project is to put as many faces as possible to the names listed on the “Wall of Honor” at the Veterans Memorial Park in McKinney. The four heroes to be honored are:
Aenard “Ann” Compton - Allen. A graduate of Allen High School, Ann attended Baylor University and became a teacher and high school principal. She left the teaching profession to become a nurse with the Army Nurse Corps during World War I. While working in an Army hospital in Washington DC, Ann died from the results of pneumonia and influenza at age 28 on October 6, 1918.
In addition to being the only servicewoman from Collin County to die in service to our nation, Ann is the only servicewoman from Texas to die in the Great War (WWI). She is buried in Allen Cemetery.
Sgt Robert W. Bently - McKinney, US Army. Robert served in the 23rd Infantry Regiment (the Tomahawks) of the 2nd Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach on D Day +1 and participated in the breakout of St Lo.
As his unit was advancing to liberate Brest France, Robert was killed in a close engagement with Nazi soldiers in the bitter hedge row fighting in Normandy on August 4, 1944. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery.
Lance/Corporal Steven W. Hutchings - Celina. United States Marine Corps. Steven served with the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Regiment in I Corps of South Vietnam.
Known as “Tex” to his Marine brothers, Steven was killed in action leading a night patrol as a point man outside of Con Thein “The Hill of Angels” on August 6, 1968. L/Cpl Hutchings was 19. He is buried in Restland Cemetery in Dallas.
Lance Corporal Jacob D. Hayes - Allen. United States Marine Corps. Jacob was a machine Gunner with the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment and served in combat in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he received a brain injury from the concussion of a improvised explosive device that caused him to have seizures.
Jacob was medically discharged from the Marine Corps and returned home to Allen and died on December 17, 2008 from complications of his injury. Jacob, was 24 and is buried in Ridgeview cemetery in Allen.
The Collin County Portrait Project is privately funded and sponsored by American Legion “Bill Bryan” Post 110 and Collin County Freedom Fighters. The portraits are created by McKinney artist and US Air Force veteran, Colin Kimball, who donates his time and talents to this historic project.
For more information go to www.ccfreedomfighters.com.