Nine State Guardsmen receive Palmetto Patriot Award
June 13, 2011
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
June 12, 2011
CHARLESTON, SC – Nine members of the S.C. State Guard received thePalmetto Patriot Award – the highest award bestowed by the Lt. Gov. ofSouth Carolina – for service and leadership to the state and nationduring ceremonies at the National Guard armory in Mt. Pleasant,Saturday, June 11.
Above photo: (L-R) Brig. Gen. Richard Terry Seay, SCSG; Brig. Gen. Joe Hudson, SCSG; and Brig. Gen. Larry Boyd, JSD
Though all but one were present, the awardees included Brig. Gen. JoeHudson, Brig. Gen. Richard Seay, Col. Frank Taylor, Lt. Col. AlanWilliams, Lt. Col. Richard Hippy, Maj. Marcia Hippy, CWO-5 ElliottMarvin, Command Sgt. Maj. Edwin McGowan, and Command Sgt. Maj. DavidPelletier.
The fact that nine members of the State Guard are being recognized inthis way is indicative of the selflessness and strong commitment toservice we find throughout this all-volunteer military organization,says Brig. Gen. Richard Eckstrom, comptroller general of S.C. whoassumed command of the S.C. State Guard this month.
The awards, signed by former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer before leaving office in Jan., were presented on behalf of Bauer by Brig. Gen. Larry Boyd, anear 28-year veteran of the State Guard who today serves in the S.C.Military Dept.’s Joint Services Detachment.
These nine Guardsmen serve as models of volunteer service and asindividual representations of a strict military standard by which allmembers of a state’s defense force should be measured, says Boyd.
The S.C. State Guard, which traces its lineage back to the early statemilitia of 1670, is today an all-volunteer state defense-force component of the broader S.C. Military Dept.
The S.C. Military Dept. – commanded by Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston,Jr., the adjutant general of S.C. – is composed of the SCMDheadquarters, the S.C. Army National Guard, the S.C. Air National Guard, the S.C. State Guard, the Joint Services Detachment, the EmergencyManagement Division, and various other elements.
– Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
