Augustans added to new wall
By Greg Gelpi| Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The heroic acts of three Augustans are now described on plaques on a new wall at Riverwalk Augusta.

Coast Guard Capt. Randolph Ridgely Jr., Army Sgt. Frank B. Gresham and Marine Corps Lt. Col. Edwin A. Pollock were remembered Tuesday during a dedication at Riverwalk's Heroes' Overlook and Memory Walk.

"I'm just here to thank you today," Mayor Deke Copenhaver, the son of a World War II bomber pilot, told the gathering of veterans and family members.

The original wall outside the Morris Museum of Art was erected in 1994 and recognizes 29 veterans. The newest honorees are remembered with plaques on a wall in front of the original.

- Capt. Ridgely, born in Augusta in 1871, earning the Navy Cross as the captain of the U.S.S. Yamacraw and U.S.S. Castine. As captain, he transported and guided troops around Gibraltar during World War I.

- Sgt. Gresham worked as a "bobbin boy" at a Harrisburg mill before enlisting in the Army and earning the Distinguished Service Cross as a member of Company G 39th Infantry 4th Division in World War I. On Sept. 26, 1918, he and another soldier conducted reconnaissance of the Germans in France and reorganized his platoon under heavy shell fire.

- Lt. Col. Pollock was born in Augusta in 1899 and commanded the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines 1st Marine Division in Guadalcanal in 1942. He fended off a surprise attack by Japanese soldiers during World War II by leaving his command post, advancing through enemy fire to the front lines and leading a 12-hour battle, which left 900 enemy soldiers dead. The act earned him the Navy Cross.

"It's good to see some of the local people recognized," said Lt. Col. Pollock's nephew, Edwin B. Pollock II. "We can fill that thing up with good men who need recognition."

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.

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