Memorial Day – Never forgotten: Captain Kimberly Hampton and PFC Barrett Austin.

Captain Kimberly Nicole Hampton, the daughter of Dale and Ann Hampton, born August 18, 1976, a 1994 graduate of Easley High School, died, at age 27, on January 2, 2004, when her OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter was shot down in Iraq.

Private First Class Barrett Lyle Austin, the son of Curt and Yolanda Austin, born November 10, 1992, a 2011 Pickens High School graduate, died, at age 20, on April 21, 2013 in Germany of injuries he had sustained four days earlier in Afghanistan, when his vehicle was attacked by an improvised explosive device (IED).

This is the significance of Memorial Day – to remember our nation’s heroes who gave their lives in service to our country. We can never repay the debt we owe to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. May we honor their memory and never forget their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families. May we never forget why we have freedom.