“Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
-John 15:19
In October of 1965 while on patrol near Phu Cuong, Vietnam, soldiers of Bravo Company 2nd/503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade were given the mission of securing a 60-square-mile area known as War Zone D, or the “Iron Triangle.” As the soldiers moved through the thick jungle brush trying to locate Viet Cong, they came under fire but were able to push the enemy back. As PFC Milton Lee Olive, a native of Holmes County, and four other soldiers, two of them black and two of them white, were in pursuit of Viet Cong, one of the enemy turned and threw a hand grenade into the middle of the platoon. PFC Olive dashed forward yelling “I’ve got it,” tucked it into his middle and moved away from the others, falling on the grenade and absorbing the full blast. His selfless act of bravery saved the lives of four soldiers and ending his life. He was just 18 years old.
A memorial plaque for Olive can be visited in Holmes County at Miles Hill, south of Lexington. There is even a park in Chicago bearing the young hero’s name. But a simple question from the granddaughter of one Lexington attorney prompted him that there should be more.
“All this started last Memorial Day,” said Don Barrett, who has a law practice in Lexington. “My three oldest grandchildren from Nashville were visiting and the oldest one, Aden, she was 11 at the time. On Memorial Day morning she said ‘Poppy, what are we going to do for Memorial Day?’ Frankly, it caught me off guard, because I was going to do exactly what everybody else in the United States is going to do, nothing, you know. Maybe cook hamburgers, drink a coke, some soft drinks or a beer or something. It had nothing to do with honoring our military heroes, which is what Memorial Day is all about. She looked at me like, well it shamed me a little bit. I said ‘Of course we’re going to do something. Get in the car.’
“I put those three little girls in the car, and I rode up on the square to where the Confederate monument was,” Barrett explained. “We got out and went around all four sides, read what is said on all four sides of the monument. Then we talked for about 10 or 15 minutes of the noble sacrifices that were made and the ultimate sacrifice that was made by over 700,000 men, north, and south. Fighting, giving their all, giving their lives for a cause greater than themselves, for what they thought was right at that time. After we did that they said ‘Is that it?’ I said ‘No, that’s not it. Get back in the car.’ There was a little twinge in my conscience.
“We drove out on top of Miles Hill, south of Lexington on past the Saints school and the golf course. Right there at that intersection is a monument to Milton Lee Olive. I made them read it; I explained to them what that meant. But it didn’t take much explaining when a man dives on a hand grenade, which he knows is going to kill him, in order to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. There’s no higher bravery then that. No more a perfect love exhibited then that.”
In separate occasions, Barrett has referenced the New Testament verse of John 15:19 which reads, “Greater love hath no man than this; That a man lay down his life for his friends.” The verse holds special significance for Barrett.
“Then (Aden) asked, ‘Where is Private Olive’s monument?’” said Barrett. “I said ‘It’s in Chicago.’ In fact, they have a whole park dedicated to him up there because that’s where his father lived.’ She said, ‘No sir, you said he was from Holmes County, why doesn’t he have a monument on the square in Lexington?’ That shamed me. I didn’t have anything to say, nothing to say. I couldn’t sleep that night; it bugged me that much.
“Within a few days time I went to the (Holmes County) board of supervisors, I had prayed about it and went to the supervisors. I told them what had happened, told them my vision, and I know how to erect a monument because I’ve done it, in honor of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, which is a story of Holmes County people involved and the University Grays, the Ole Miss student body was one of the companies. It was 100% casualties.
“So I know the best people in the business,” Barrett continued. “I volunteered to be in charge of it, to help raise the money and get it done. The board of supervisors were enthusiastic.”
Holmes County Administrator Charlie Joiner expressed that the monument and legacy of Olive is a common effort everyone can get behind and support.
“It touches all of us,” said Joiner, “it doesn’t matter what color you are, Olive was a Holmes County native, we are proud of what he’s done, that shows some of the values that were instilled in him. He didn’t get that from Chicago, he got that from right here, his granddaddy and grandmother.”
Olive was born in Chicago in November of 1946; his mother died in childbirth, which was more common at that time. His father who was working full-time relinquished care of his son to his parents who lived in the Ebenezer-Lexington communities.
“We’ve still got some money raising to do,” Barrett said, “but the Lord is gonna see that we get the money for it.
“(The monument) is going to be four sides,” Barrett continued. “It’s being made by Codori Monuments in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Codori has become a friend of mine. He’s doing it at a cut-rate price because he is moved by the story, everybody is moved by the story when they hear it.
“As Mrs. Joiner said, we struggle in Holmes County. When we have something wonderful like this, it ought to shine for the world to see. So that’s what we’re going to do.”
The proposed four-sided monument will have something different on each facing. The west side will depict a bronze bas-relief of Milton Olive in uniform. The south side will depict the New Testament verse of John 15:19 “Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.” The east side will depict Olive’s Medal of Honor Citation decreed April 26, 1966. The north side of the monument will read “ERECTED BY THE UNITED BLACK AND WHITE CITIZENS OF HOLMES COUNTY AND DEDICATED JULY 4, 2017.”
Barrett emphasized that the north side engraving was his idea.
“That is what this is about,” said Barrett. “That transcends so much.”One of the fundraising letters that was sent out by Barrett made its way before the Medal of Honor Foundation.
“(That is) a group set up to honor the living medal of honor winners and to help them if they need help in their lives,” Barrett continued, “and to help those families of the ones who’ve been killed. They are going to make a contribution, they also maybe, are going to come. We’ve been contacted by the Medal of Honor Society; no one can be in that unless they’ve won a Congressional Medal of Honor. They’re going to either send a representative or send a correspondence to be read. We’ve invited the governor; he has express great interest, the adjutant general of Mississippi (Major General Janson D. Boyles), he going to come. He is sending a military band, an eight-person honor guard, and they will give (Olive) a twenty-one gun salute.”
Barrett added that the only people who receive a twenty-one gun salute are presidents of the United States and Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.
Other military-centric organizations with Holmes County ties have also expressed interest in being a part of the July 4ceremony.
Barrett hopes to have a large number of invites sent to the Mississippi Veterans’ Home, leaders of the state’s leading veterans’ organizations and local and area veterans.
One of the county’s top performing pianists and Mississippi native Bruce Levingston is set to perform as well.
“He’s a friend of mine and a client of mine, so he’s volunteered to come,” said Barrett.
“We’re also trying to identify and invite the remaining family members,” Barrett said, “obviously he had no children, he was not married.”
A reception is planned at the Multi-Purpose Building in Lexington on July 4 followed by the monument dedication and unveiling on the Holmes County Courthouse Lawn.
“This monument will make sure his memory endures long after we’re all dead and gone,” said Barrett. “The nobility of what he did will continue to live.”
By Mathew Breazeale. This story was originally published in the Holmes County Herald.
Follow HottyToddy.com on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat @hottytoddynews. Like its Facebook page: If You Love Oxford and Ole Miss…
Recent Comments