By Tracy Gupton

“HE GALLANTLY GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY” is the closing sentence written on a proclamation delivered from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the parents of fallen soldier Charles Frank Ringgold in West Columbia, Texas, in 1944. Private First Class Ringgold and Sergeant Norman Lanell Whitaker are American soldiers buried at Old Columbia Cemetery in West Columbia who sacrificed their lives in battle. America honors them and the thousands and thousands of others like them today on Memorial Day 2023. Whitaker, born on February 3, 1931, in Rusk County, Texas, the son of Samuel Norman Whitaker (1905-1984) and Tena “Tennie” McComb Whitaker (1911-2003), was killed in action in Kumsong, Korea, on August 7, 1952. Sgt. Whitaker was a field artillery cannoneer with the 176th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Infantry Division, of the U.S. Army. He and fellow West Columbian Charles Frank Ringgold received posthumous Purple Hearts for their acts of valor in time of war. Sgt. Whitaker also received a Silver Star. Purple Heart winner Private First Class Ringgold, a paratrooper in the Marine Corps, was born in West Columbia on May 9, 1925. He was the son of James Wyatt Ringgold (1888-1961) and Nellie Adelia Chamblee Ringgold (1894-1976) of West Columbia. Both of his parents and several siblings are also interred at Old Columbia Cemetery. PFC Ringgold was killed in action on July 25, 1944, in Guam during World War II. He was called “Chickie” by his friends back home in West Columbia. His Navy Cross citation reads Ringgold was being recognized “For extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving with the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines, First Provisional Marine Brigade, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Island of Guam in the Marianas, on July 25, 1944. Wounded while countering the enemy’s first attempt to penetrate our lines that night, Private First Class Ringgold proceeded to the rear where he received medical treatment, then returned voluntarily to the flank position occupied by his machine gun squad. Steadfastly remaining at his post throughout the night, he repeatedly fought off the persistent efforts of the Japanese troops to infiltrate his position and succeeded in killing two of the enemy before succumbing to his wounds.” PFC Ringgold’s remains were eventually returned to his hometown of West Columbia for burial at Old Columbia Cemetery. Sgt. Norman Whitaker, also buried at Columbia Cemetery, is remembered at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. All these many years later these two brave soldiers are not being forgotten by those from their hometown and today, on Memorial Day, we salute Charles Frank Ringgold and Norman Lanell Whitaker for their ultimate sacrifice in service to our great country.

These headstones at Old Columbia Cemetery in West Columbia mark the burial sites of Purple Heart recipients Charles “Chickie” Ringgold and Norman Whitaker who valiantly sacrificed their lives in battle during World War II and the Korean War respectively. On Memorial Day today everyone should take a moment to reflect on the many lives lost in battle.