The 2022 West Point Leadership Award was granted to Somtochukwa Okoye, a junior at Cardinal Newman School.

“We call this Memorial Day. Really, every day is Memorial Day. We must always remember to honor those who served.”

The South Carolina Railroad Museum will offer free train rides to military veterans, active-duty personnel and their families Saturday, May 28 in celebration of Memorial Day. 

Anyone driving near Fort Jackson May 18 may experience traffic disruption due to a joint emergency exercise being held at the base. Gates to the base will be closed for hours during the day.

The opportunity to join the “the world's greatest team” just got better-up to $50,000 better, according to Lieutenant Colonel Brian Meister. "The U.S. Army is the world's greatest team. It's not a competition, said Meister.

Jeremy Garrett has served in the Marine Corps for six years as a light armored vehicle crewman and is stationed at Camp McCrady in Eastover, SC. As a crewman, his main job is to keep up with maintenance on all vehicles for support with the ground infantry unit.

Sergeant Cole Smith has served in the Army for 11 years. The National Guard soldier was an infantryman for the first nine years of his career and has been a recruiter for the past two.

Spec-4 Paul Beattie served in Vietnam in 1969 after enlisting once graduating from high school in upstate New York. His soldier experience started in Columbia at Fort Jackson for three days before traveling to Fort Polk to complete basic training.

Command Sergeant Major Algrish Williams enlisted in the Army in 1995. The native of Jamaica wanted to do intel in the Army originally, but was not yet a U.S. citizen until graduating from basic training. Eventually, the artillery man would venture to the human resources sector of the Army an…

Michael Dhunjishah served as a Spec-5 in the Army, which is equivalent to a sergeant in today’s rank structure. He enlisted in 1965 and and was a part of the first push of American troops being sent to serve in the Vietnam War.

SGT Justin Angona was medically retired after 14 years of service in the Army. The 91B Mechanic worked on every wheeled vehicle that was in the Army. In addition, Angona said he also did a little bit of everything else.

Sergeant Samuel Moore served in the Marine Corps for six years from 2012 to 2018. The 6154 aircraft mechanic said he loved his experience and enjoyed working on Hueys and Cobras for his first four years of service. He finished the last two as a door gunner for the Huey aircraft.

More than 60 entries walked, drove, and marched down Sumter Street in Columbia Thursday for the 43rd annual Veterans Day Parade, honoring those who have served.

Staff Sergeant Matthew Helm has served in the South Carolina National Guard for 10 years and is looking to go full-time in the Army for the next three years.

Some ran. Some walked. Some rucked (the military term for walking/running with a loaded backpack). Some stood alongside and cheered. All were there to honor U.S. veterans, and all were helping raise money to provide accommodations for the loved ones of veterans receiving hospital care.

Sergeant Jared Evans has served four years in the Marine Corps as a Recon Marine. After getting out of uniform, Evans started serving in a different capacity. He is now the executive director of Military and Veteran Affairs at the University of South Carolina.

The City of Columbia is gearing up for its 43rd Annual Veterans Day Parade.

Staff Sergeant Ridge Maignan has served in the Marine Corps for eight years. He is stationed in Eastover with Fourth Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He was most recently stationed in Okinawa, Japan and enjoyed the traveling but said he's happy to be back in the states.

James Loftis has served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 13 years with no sign of slowing down. Some have visions of doing 20 years of service and retiring, but Loftis wants to serve, “for as long as they’ll have him."

Corporal Dylan Walters has quite the interesting start to his Marine Corps career, especially to fellow South Carolina natives. His time with the Corps began on the West Coast, and continued across the country on the East Coast of the Palmetto State. Walters is from San Diego and went to boo…

Sergeant Greg Sword served for 14 years in the Army Reserves. When he was away from drill, Sword did a lot of contract work as well. He went on four different deployments between the two jobs, three to Iraq and one to Afghanistan.

Major Chris Huber has been serving in the U.S. Army since graduating from the Citadel in 2009. The engineer originally was working as a civilian and attending drill like any normal National Guard soldier would. Now, he serves in the Active Guard Reserve.

Sergeant First Class Bobby Edwards served 17 and a half years in the U.S. Army before medically retiring from Fort Jackson earlier this year in March. The former Ranger instructor now works part-time behind a gun counter and full-time as a nonprofit creator. 

Staff Sergeant Carter Lybrand has served in the South Carolina National Guard for 12 years and counting.

Lieutenant Craig Augenstein graduated from the Naval Academy in 1987. After the academy, he went to nuclear power school and became a nuclear officer on a submarine in Charleston. In his five years of service, he went on a couple deployments to the Mediterranean and just north of the Arctic Circle.

Staff Sergeant Jason Dersch served for 14 years in the armed forces. The airborne soldier originally got out of the Army while he was starting a family. Eight months later, he was back in a blue uniform as an Airman. Dersch went back to the Army as a sniper after four years.

Corporal Austin LeQuire has been serving in the U.S. Marine Corps reserves for the last five years. He serves as a combat engineer in Knoxville, TN.

Captain Camden Smith is the Company Commander for Engineer Company D. 4th CEB. He recently underwent an annual training and spent two weeks at Fort Campbell.

Staff Sergeant Jason Ramos has been in the U.S. Army for 12 years. More than 11 were spent all around the world on active-duty, and now as a civilian financial advisor, Ramos continues to serve in the reserves.

Sergeant First Class Bobby Cash retired from the Army after 21 years of service in 2016. The Alabama native served as an MP all over the world and after multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, decided it was time to settle down.

Sergeant James Hull enlisted into the Marine Corps, then temporarily got out and like so many others, re-enlisted after 9/11.

Harrison Church has been in the U.S. Navy for eight years. He was on active duty as an Aviation Boatswains Mate Equipment (ABE) specializing in Catapult Operations/Maintenance on USS George HW Bush CVN-77. Church switched to the reserves in 2018 while wanting to pursue a college degree.

Petty Officer Second Class Karl Roman served for six years in the U.S. Navy.

Staff Sergeant Derek Rast has been serving in the Army for the last 12 years and said he plans on staying in for at least 20. The National Guard recruiter joked that he would not be here if it weren't for the National Guard.

South Carolina Army National Guard Specialist Zach Bogue has served for two and a half years. The young soldier said he wanted to continue family tradition and serve in the armed forces but also continue to go to school for a much cheaper cost.

Ret. Lieutenant Colonel Hubert “Herb” Rentz Jr. has served in the Army on active duty, the reserves and South Carolina National Guard. The Citadel graduate went back to school after his Army training and graduated from Winthrop with his master’s to become a school teacher.

Fort Jackson hosted a change of command ceremony Friday morning, wishing their 51st Commanding General, Brigadier General Milford H. Beagle Jr. (Beags), the best as he continues his career as the Commanding General of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York. The Enoree, SC native…

Lexington Richland School District Five announced the names of the district's 2021 graduates who have chosen to serve the country by enlisting in one of the branches of the armed forces or attending a military service academy.

United States Marine Sergeant John “Jack” Fossing served six years in the Corps. He notified his father during his senior year of high school that he was going to go into the Navy, but his dad had a different idea.

Brigadier General Milford Beagle Jr., Commanding General of Fort Jackson, was presented with a special award for his career of outstanding achievement and service to South Carolina Tuesday at the State House. Governor Henry McMaster honored Beagle with the Order of the Palmetto as he prepare…

Ret. US Navy Petty Officer First Class Heather Durant-McEady is the Women Veterans’ Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Veterans’ Affairs.