McKinney, Texas – The North Texas Fallen Warrior Portrait Project will present the portraits of five Collin County young men who died while in the service of our country, in a ceremony, Monday, June 7, at 11:00 a.m., at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney. The portraits will be added to the 76 already on display in the “Hall of Heroes” in the courthouse. There are 428 names engraved on the “Wall of Honor” at the Collin County Veterans Memorial Park in McKinney, and the goal of the project is to put as many faces as possible with those names. The five heroes to be honored are:
BURNETT, WILLIAM G. Collin County. US Navy, Radioman 3rd Class. Enlisted in 1942 and trained at San Diego along with his father. KIA 25 Oct. 1944, along with 326 US Sailors, in the sinking of the USS Johnston off the coast of Samar Island in the Philippines. Listed on the “Tablets of the Missing”, Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines. WWII.
PATTERSON, HAROLD LEMUEL, 19, Plano. US Navy, Seaman 1st Class aboard the USS Arizona. KIA 7 Dec. 1941 during Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Listed on the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii and on the “Tablets of the Missing” at the Honolulu Memorial. WWII.
GEIGAS, JAMES HENRY “JIMMIE”, 27, McKinney. US Army, Pvt. Company A, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division. KIA 15 Sept 1918 at St. Mihiel, France. During a lull in the battle, Jimmie and another soldier went back to a stream they had earlier crossed to fill canteens with water. On the way a German biplane flew over and dropped a bomb which landed next to Jimmie. American Legion Post 96 in McKinney is named in his honor. Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Collin County. The first McKinney boy ever to be killed in action on foreign soil. WWI.
BLAINE, ROBERT W. 27, Plano. US Army Air Corps, 1st Lt. 67th Bomber Squadron, 44th Bomber Group, Heavy. Pilot of B-24 Liberator. KIA 8 March 1943 when shot down over Barentin, France, during raid on the Rouen Railroad Marshalling Yards. Listed on the “Tablets of the Missing” at Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium. WWII.
WHITE, TOMMIE VAUGHN, 25, Josephine. USMC, PFC. B Co. 1st Bn. 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Div., known as “The Walking Dead”, Antitank Assault Man. Had been in Vietnam two weeks, when KIA 2 July 1967 near Con Thien on the DMZ, northernmost US base in south Vietnam. Buried at Odd Fellows Cemetery, Caddo Mills, Texas.
The “North Texas Fallen Warrior Portrait Project” is privately funded and sponsored by American Legion “Bill Bryan” Post 110, VFW “Lone Star” Post 2150 and Collin County Freedom Fighters.com. 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 contact Colin Kimball at 281-770-0220, or
RD Foster at ccfreedomfighters@msn.com.