Effort Growing To Honor War Hero

By Richard Clark and Rick Wells, News On 6

Oologah, OK -- An effort is growing to honor a World War II hero who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

As The News On 6 first reported a couple of weeks ago, the history club at Oologah High School wants to build a monument to Sergeant Roy Harmon.

Related Story: 12/4/08 Oologah Students Honoring War Hero

Even though he died decades before any of them were born, they want to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves on the homefront.

"I think that's the important part.  We realize what needs to be done and we're doing it," said Michael Wallis of the Oologah History Club.

What needs to be done, according to the Oologah High School History Club, is honor the memory of Roy W. Harmon.

Sergeant Harmon was born in Talala, just up the road from Oologah. He died in a wheat field in Italy back in 1944, when he attacked three enemy machine gun nests.

His act earned him the Medal of Honor, and if these high school students have their way, a monument in his hometown.

"I didn't think people would really care that much or pay that much attention to it.  But I'm really pleased with how well it's going.  I'm really excited for it to happen," said Kaleigh Clark of the Oologah History Club.

The students and their sponsor have heard from Sergeant Harmon's sister in California, as well as family members here in Oklahoma.

"His nephew got in touch with Mr. Metcalf and said 'thank you for doing this for my uncle,'" said Clark. 

Now the club is closing in on its goal of raising $5,000. The plan calls for a monument with a plaque detailing Sergeant Harmon's story, and the club is thinking big.

"We're not talking about a small monument here.  We're talking about a 6 or 7-foot tall monument.  So we're looking into an all natural, all stone monument," said Wallis.

The students want to have the monument in place by the end of March. They're a little worried about meeting the deadline, but they're excited, too.

"I hope we can get his sister out here, and his nephew up.  I think that would be really nice," said Clark.

The club was originally planning to pay for a granite monument, until they learned that granite would cost twice what they wanted to pay.

They want to unveil the monument on March 25th, which is Medal of Honor day.