By Karen Brewer, Publisher & Editor, The Pickens County Chronicle
Photos by Karen Brewer, The Pickens County Chronicle
“Six Mile Remembers” was the theme of the Town of Six Mile’s annual traditional Memorial Day ceremony held on Saturday, May 30, 2026. The event began at 11:30 a.m. outside Six Mile Town Hall with welcoming speeches by Mayor James Atkinson and Lieutenant Colonel Tom von Kaenel (US Army, retired), founder of Semper Fi Barn in Six Mile.
The Star Scouts of Six Mile then led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem.
Tom Smith, a member of the Fleet Reserve Association Branch 15, then gave the invocation.
Von Kaenel then introduced Father Matthew Gray, of St. Andrew Catholic Church in Clemson, who delivered the keynote speech, about fellow American Catholic priest Emil Kapaun, U.S. Army Captain and chaplain and Medal of Honor recipient who died in North Korea in 1951.
Following the wreath presentation by the Fleet Reserve and American Legion, and wreath reception by Tom von Kaenel and Father Gray, U.S. Navy veterans Rick Hegenberger and Jim Jones performed the Remembrance Bell Ceremony for Pickens County’s four Medal of Honor recipients, Charles Barker (Korea), James Donnie Howe (Vietnam), William A. McWhorter (World War II), and Furman L. Smith (World War II), as well as for all who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Doug Henry then played “Taps.”
The American and South Carolina flags, which had been lowered to half-staff earlier in the morning, were then raised to full staff by the Fleet Reserve and American Legion.
The ceremony’s closing remarks were by Judy Shaw, a member of the Six Mile Town Council.
To listen to the entire Memorial Day ceremony, including all speeches, and view 43 photos by The Pickens County Chronicle from Six Mile’s 2026 Memorial Day ceremony please click on the link below:
Six Mile remembers the fallen during annual traditional Memorial Day ceremony on Saturday, May 3