Over a half-century after he sacrificed his life for his fellow soldiers, Henryetta Allen Devore is being honored with a sign on Main Street
At an unveiling ceremony Friday afternoon, the two green and white metal signs open each end of the bridge spanning Coal Creek were revealed.
In a brief gathering at the Henryetta civic center, State Senator Roger Thompson pointed out, “it is always good for us to give honor to whom honor is due. It is very good for our young men and women today to understand that freedom is not free.”
A replica of the metal signs was presented to the family members and will be displayed in the households as a traveling moment of their lost brother and cousin.
Devore, was killed in a firefight near Saigon in 1968. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his sacrifice saving the lives of troops were pinned down.
His brother Danny recalled Devore wanted to join the Marines but his parents would not sign the papers. Instead he was drafted into the Army. He was a member of an infantry unit that was pinned down by enemy fire. During the battle, Devore distinguished himself by using a machine gun to draw fire away from injured and trapped GIs. Because of that effort, he was mortally wounded.
Danny went on to say that when he and his brother, Steve, re-enlisted in the Army, they were in Washington state and their re-enlistment ceremony was held at the Devore welcome center named for the Henryetta soldier.
“Every time you looked at that sign and put a face with the name, it’s priceless,” he said.
He went on to say there are rifle ranges and parks bearing the Devore name. “Now this bridge is named after him and he deserved every bit of it.”
