Scotland County resident Daryle McNair wanted to honor four area residents, hoping to get them some recognition in tThe Laurinburg Exchange.

“Here are four prominent yet unheralded citizens of Scotland County, specifically Wagram, who deserve to be recognized,” said McNair, who is a former resident of Laurinburg now residing in Charlotte. “This is county history, not just black history.”

Those men are:

— The Monroe brothers are two of Scotland County’s most decorated soldiers. They grew up in Wagram and went on to have stellar military careers.

Edward was known to family and friends as ‘Dwink.’ After high school he graduated from West Virginia State University in 1954 and joined the Army. He flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam before retiring as a master combat pilot. Edward was a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airman and retired as a lieutenant colonel. A licensed commercial pilot for both airplanes and helicopters, Edward served as a vice president at Nassau Community College for about 10 years after his Army service. He passed away in 2012.

James, who was known as ‘Buster’ to friends and family, also graduated from West Virginia State University. His military career began in 1963. In 1987 he was the deputy for Host Nation Support at U.S. Central Command during Operation Desert Storm. In 1991 he was promoted to brigadier general and, in 1994, he was selected to be the 28th chief of ordinance and commanding general of the U.S. Army Ordinance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In 2002, James was inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame. He retired in 1998 after 35 years of active duty. He is regarded as the highest ranking active duty officer in the history of Scotland County.

— Charles Freeman, along with William Matthews, were both assigned to the “Old Guard” 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort McNair, Virginia. The Old Guard is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving our nation since 1784. Since World War II, The Old Guard has served as the official Army Honor Guard and escort to the president. In addition, soldiers of The Old Guard maintain a 24-hour vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns, provide military escorts at Arlington National Cemetery and participate in parades at Fort Myer and Fort Lesley J. McNair.

Freeman and Matthews were two of the first six black men to serve in this unit. In the fall of 1962, the two volunteered for the North Carolina Army National Guard. They became the first two black men to join any of the 17 southern states’ National Guard units. They trained in tank warfare as members of the 2/252nd Armor Battalion in Laurinburg.

Freeman went on to receive many awards. A few of his most prestigious are the Secretary of the Army Award, presented to him at the Pentagon in 1987; he was named a “Kentucky Colonel” by Kentucky Gov. Wallace Wilkinson for talks and seminars he gave to Department of the Army Civilians in the state; as part of the same recognition he was named an honorary captain of the steamboat “Belle of Louisville.” He went from labor to reward on July 30, 2006.

Matthews had to give up his commission as 2nd lieutenant to join the North Carolina Army National Guard. He went on to become the first black command sargent major in the United States, selected as an enlistment advisor to the Capital Guardians in Washington, D.C. Under the George H.W. Bush administration, he was asked to recruit young blacks into the National Guard. Shortly afterwards, he was given a job with the Pentagon to recruit young people of all races to join and a personal helicopter to travel around the country to carry out his duties.

Daryle McNair’s father, Charlie McNair Jr., was the first and founding president of the NAACP in Scotland County.

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Staff report