For immediate release 3/11/99
Contact: Melissa Forsythe

Honors for Kentucky World War One Veterans

Frankfort: Two surviving World War One veterans from Kentucky today are being honored for their service at a ceremony at Ft. Campbell.

100 year old Sidney Pritchett of Hopkinsville and 103 year old Clarence Blakney, of Benton, today will receive the French government’s highest honor for military valor, the French National Order of the Legion of Honor. The award was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Kentucky Commissioner of Veterans’ Affairs, retired Army Brigadier General Leslie E. Beavers, will be present for the ceremony at 2:00 p.m. (CST) at Fort Campbell. French Consul Jean-Paul Bossuge will make the presentation.

Governor Paul Patton declared March World War One Veterans’ Recognition Month. He said, " More than 84-thousand Kentuckians served our country during that war effort. 2, 418 Kentuckians died during World War One, and 890 of those were listed as killed in action. It’s appropriate to remember that selfless dedication to cause and country, and wonderful that these survivors are being honored."

Pritchett was an Army First Sergeant during the war. He was just 18 years old when he signed up in 1917. Pritchett served in England and in France, where he drilled troops who were sent to the front lines.

Blakney, born in 1896, was drafted into the Army in 1918. His unit was sent to France, where he served with a base hospital and was assigned acting mess sergeant duties.

They’re among the more than 41-thousand Kentuckians who served overseas during the war years, from 1917-1919.