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By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
Three local good Samaritans were recently honored with an award that few Americans know about but one that represents the highest virtues and values of what being an American is all about.
Rev. Seth Buckley, Deborah Sobeski and Jean Thomas Loving were given the Legion of Honor Award, a signal distinction bestowed by the Chapel of Four Chaplains in a ceremony inspired by the selfless sacrifice of four military chaplains who gave their lives during the sinking of the U.S.A.T. Dorchester in February of 1943.
The Chapel of Four Chaplains ceremony was held in Spartanburg by the Hutchings-Caldwells Detachment No. 1134 of the Marine Corps League last Thursday evening, and to say the three recipients were surprised by the award would be an understatement.
Sgt-at-Arms John Dyas was one of those responsible for greeting the three as they entered the building.
“Every one that came in didn’t have a clue,” Dyas said. “Seth broke down right there at the door” when he found out why he was there.
The ceremony was both solemn and celebratory. The solemnity came with the lighting of four candles in remembrance of the four chaplains who went down with the Dorchester – Alexander D. Goode, George Fox, Clark V. Poling and John P. Washington – followed by a solo by Larry Mixon, the ringing of the Bell in Remembrance by Adjutant Sandra Thompson, and a reading of the story of the last night of the Dorchester by Deputy Sgt-at-Arms Rick Renna.
Commandant Jim Smith then presented the awards and described the reason for their nomination.
Rev. Seth Buckley is the Youth Minister at First Baptist Church of Spartanburg and has been responsible for taking hundreds of kids on mission trips each year to the Appalachian region of Kentucky. In what many consider one of the most economically depressed areas of the country, Buckley has continually expanded the effort until last year when 284 people representing 28 churches devoted a week of service to the area.
Of the many accomplishments that week brought, the group served 1,200 meals each day they were there, conducted five basketball camps and undertook two construction projects.
“You just don’t know what this means to me,” Buckley said emotionally as he received his plaque.
The next recipient of the Legion of Honor Award was Deborah Sobeski, the mother of Dorman senior Hannah Sobeski who died from a rare form on cancer in November 2006.
Since Hannah’s death and because of the inspiration her life brought to so many, Deborah started Hannah’s Hope Ministries aimed at bringing the message of faith and hope to those suffering from diseases like Hannah’s. Through this ministry, Deborah speaks to schools and churches to share the story of her daughter’s courageous struggle against an implacable disease.
The final recipient of the Legion of Honor Award went to Jean Thomas Loving, a cancer survivor who has served the people of Boiling Springs and other communities across the Upstate by offering messages of hope and encouragement. Loving had been told her cancer was terminal, but she refused to accept that and keeps on spreading her message of faith.
According to Dyas, the post Sgt-at-Arms, there were only 402 Legion of Honor Awards of the Chapel of Four Chaplains given out last year. Potential recipients have to have heir names submitted to a committee in Philadelphia where it takes six to eight weeks for a decision to be made.
Dyas said that he was pleased with the ceremony and thought everyone involved was moved.
jking@hometown-news.com
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