The opening ceremony for the inaugural Upstate Field of Honor, hosted by the Foothills Civitan Club and the Dacusville Community Club, was held at the Dacusville Community Center at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, 2004. All of the more than 200 American flags were purchased by individuals or organizations, with each flag bearing the name of a first responder or member of the military, some of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation.  

(The Field of Honor event lasted until Wednesday, September 11 and included these other events: a prayer meeting held on Wednesday, September 4, a game day for children on Saturday, September 7, church choirs singing from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. followed by Quilts of Valor presentations at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, and the closing ceremony at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11. The country and bluegrass concert scheduled for Thursday, September 5 was cancelled due to illness.)

To begin the opening ceremony the evening of Saturday, August 31, members of the Patriot Guard Riders rode in under the large American flag from the Easley Fire Department and brought and presented an American flag to members of the Easley American Legion Post 52 Honor Guard, who raised the flag onto the flagpole adjacent to the Dacusville Community Center pavilion.

Lori Osborn, President of the Dacusville Community Club, introduced the Honor Guard and thanked them for participating in the event.

Gary Finley, Secretary for the Foothills Civitan Club, led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Billy Gibson, a longtime firefighter and Pickens County Emergency Services Director, sang the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Patsy Finley, President of the Foothills Civitan Club, read “The Civitan’s Creed”:

“I AM CIVITAN: as old as life, as young as the rainbow, as endless as time.

MY HANDS do the work of the world and reach out in service to others.

MY EARS hear the cry of children and the call throughout the world for peace, guidance, progress, and unity.

MY EYES search for others to join in the fellowship and service of Civitan.

MY MOUTH utters the call to daily duty and speaks prayers in every tongue.

MY MIND teaches me respect for law and the flag of my country.

MY HEART beats for every friend, bleeds for every injury to humanity, and throbs with joy at every triumph of truth.

MY SOUL knows no fear but its own unworthiness.

MY HOPE is for a better world through Civitan.

MY MOTTO: builders of good citizenship.

MY BELIEF: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

MY PLEDGE: to practice the Golden Rule and to build upon it a better and nobler citizenship.”

“That is the Civitan Creed,” she said. “It’s one of the most beautiful creeds I have ever read.

“I want to welcome you this afternoon on behalf of the Foothills Civitan Club and invite you to enjoy one of our projects, which is the Field of Honor. The Foothills Club was chartered in November of 2016 in Easley. We welcome you to the Field of Honor and encourage you to walk through the field where the flags are honoring those who we look up to as our heroes.

“Foothills Civitan Club is a community service club dedicated to helping others with special emphasis on helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our club works closely with the Pickens County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs. If you are interested in helping others, please join us at our meetings, which are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

“The members of Foothills Civitan Club, along with our co-host, Dacusville Community Club, hope that you enjoy your time here and that you will decide to honor your hero either tonight by buying a flag, if you have not already, or keeping us in mind for next year. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Patsy,” said her husband, Gary. “Two years ago, as members of the Civitan Club, we started thinking about a way to have a fundraiser that would impact somebody that we want to help in the community and also raise awareness for Civitan, which most people don’t know a whole lot about.” After trying to find the right location, he said, they decided that the Community Center, which includes a pavilion, was a great location. “And we decided if we could do it on Labor Day weekend, when everybody’s coming by for the Farm Days, that would give us a lot more exposure,” he said. “We also realized, as a very small club, we didn’t have the people to pull that off. The Dacusville Community Club, when approached, was very excited. We have joined with them to co-host this event. We hope that you will take the time to walk through the flags out there. You might be surprised who shows up on one of those dedication cards. It might be a neighbor that you didn’t even know served somewhere. But most of all we just want you to enjoy yourselves, feel better about being a part of this great country, and do what we can to help others. Our part of the proceeds that we make off of this event are going to help with projects that we do with the Pickens County Board of Disabilities. If you ever want to get involved with helping somebody, these are the people that it is so much fun to work with. They are so appreciative of anything you do for them. Thank you to our co-hosts for being such wonderful co-workers on this. We could not have done it without them.”

He then introduced Tim McConnell, Pastor of Oneal Church of God in Greer, who gave the invocation. “It’s a joy to be here and to see that there are still people in America that care about the red, white, and blue,” said McConnell, before his prayer. “I’d like to thank the Civitan Club and the Dacusville Community Club for putting on this event and all those that make it a great day. Most of all, we would like to thank those that have given all and those that have served, and we honor them today. There is one scripture, before I pray, I would like to read. If all America would turn to this scripture and do what God has commanded, America will become greater than it ever has. In II Chronicles chapter seven and verse 14, it says, ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’ May we pray. Father God, we thank you for this day. We thank you that, dear Father, there are still people, Lord, in this country, that love and care for America. And, Father, I pray that today would be a day where many would take this message of today and take, dear Lord, the red, white, and blue that America stands for and all that freedom we have been given, and we would not carry it in a way, dear Father, that we would lose it, but, Father, that we will seek your face, we will honor you, and we will help those that are in need. And, Father, that we will honor our heroes forever, because, Father, we’re living in a day where many do not honor you, do not honor the flag, and do not honor each other. But, today, we pray your blessings upon all these and all of the families, dear Father, that are associated with the heroes. We thank you for those that have served in any branch of the military. We thank you for first responders. We thank you for law enforcement. We thank you for anyone that has served and given in volunteer work or work to serve and protect. We pray that, God, you will bless this and bless, Lord, the Civitan Club and bless the Dacusville Community Club, that God you would bless them as they continue to work for you. And we honor you this day. And, Lord, I would pray, God bless America. Amen.”

Gary Finley thanked McConnell and then introduced Bill Tolleson, past President of Civitan Club of Columbia, past Governor of the Civitan South Carolina District, and currently the Civitan International Director of Region 2, which covers South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

“I would like to congratulate and express my appreciation to the Dacusville Community Club and the Foothills Civitan Club for their diligence and desire to put on a program like this,” said Tolleson. “I think it’s a great program. I look out at this Field of Honor, and I see the cyclists come in, and that just does my heart good. I’m an Air Force veteran. I retired from the Reserves. My Dad was a Navy Officer in World War II. We have military blood that runs in our family.

“You can see this big Civitan emblem on my business card – that blue and gold emblem. Those 12 little points around there denote the same 12 points of the Civitan Creed. And, as Patsy said, we start out, ‘I am as old as life, as young as the rainbow, as endless as time.’ The first time I heard that, I said, ‘That’s pretty arrogant, isn’t it?’ And then, after about two meetings, I said, ‘This is just a bunch of really optimistic people.’ We always look for other people to come to Civitan and be a part of us, as volunteers interested in people with developmental disabilities. Since I’ve been in Civitan, I think the statistics have gone from about one in nine to one in six kids that’s born today will most probably have some sort of an autistic tendency. The Civitan Creed also says ‘my mind teaches me respect for law and the flag of my country.’ You have 12 days that you can honor either your departed loved ones that might have lost their life honoring this flag, or just in memory of that person that may have passed on. Honor and memory is a great thing to pursue. You can pay respect by walking through the flags. God bless you, and your memories of your loved ones, and the great republic of the United States of America. Our creed goes on to say that ‘my ears hear the cry of children’, and that’s especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ‘My eyes search for others to join in the fellowship of service for Civitan.’ If you recently retired, or think you might have some time on your hands, if you think you might be interested in helping people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, put on a project such as this, participating in that, we offer you great comradery, as a Civitan, a sense of belonging, and it’s been proven that people that have love and a sense of belonging live longer and do better. It’s an opportunity to serve your community and also to participate in research. We have our Civitan International Research Center on the University of Alabama Medical Center campus in Birmingham, Alabama, looking for cures and treatments for people with intellectual disabilities.

“Pastor Tim, you said it well. My prayer is simply this – that our future is true to one nation under God, that our star-spangled banner waves over the land of the free and the home of the brave forever.

“I believe this Upstate Field of Honor is an honor to God, to Pickens County, to South Carolina, and this great nation, the United States of America.”

Lori Osborn thanked Tolleson and introduced herself as the President of the Dacusville Community Club. “We meet the first Tuesday of every month here to try to help people in the Dacusville community,” she said. “Right now, we’re doing a food share program, which is awesome for many people, since there are no supermarkets up this way.” She encouraged everyone to visit their website (DacusvilleCommunityCenter.org). “I would like to take the time to thank all of the Dacusville Community Club members who came together and volunteered their time and hard work, especially in the heat, to make this event happen. When I was first approached to see if the Dacusville Community Club would be interested in participating in the Field of Honor, I could not have been more excited. I thought, what an honor and a wonderful way to pay tribute to our heroes, and the Dacusville community Center has the perfect location for such an event, with these beautiful mountains as a backdrop.

“Heroes come in many shapes and forms from many different walks of life. Here are just a few of the many heroes you’ll find in the Field of Honor Healing Fields: the man or woman in uniform who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life, protecting the freedoms of this country, leaving behind a family to grieve and to be proud, the woman who founded the Girl Scouts of America, first responders, to parents being honored by their children, and friends who just wanted to honor someone that they held in high esteem and made them feel special.”

She then told about the events on upcoming days through September 11 and said, “Thank you for coming out and supporting this event.”

Patsy Finley introduced Barry Michael, who sang a song he wrote, titled “Heroes and Angels.”

“He wrote the song ‘Heroes and Angels’ and there is not a more appropriate song that could be sung than that one,” said Finley. “He has supported the military all over the world. I have been to quite a few events where he sang, and it’s always wonderful. He’s from Atlanta. He says he’s a city boy turned country. He is an actor, a model, a comedian, and you will find out he’s a singer, too. He’s the father of two children, two girls.”

“Thank you, Patsy,” said Michael. “I wrote this song for both of my grandfathers, World War II veterans. They were with us when I wrote this song, and they’ve both gone on to be with the Lord now, so I still sing it in their honor. But this song definitely has, for some reason, been so special to so many people. It’s a song I tried not to write, to be honest with you. A group of World War II vets invited me out to San Antonio, Texas to play at an event for them. And they heard I was a songwriter. And about two months before I was going to go, they asked if I could write a song for them. And I was like, I don’t have time to do this, two months? I told my executive producer, ‘We’re probably not going to do that.’ So, he was like, ‘Okay.’ About a month later, he calls me and says, ‘Barry, this group from Texas is really excited about the song that you’re going to write for them.’ And I said, ‘What?’ And he says, ‘You’d better get to writing a song.’ So, I called a buddy of mine in Nashville, and I said, ‘We’ve got to write a song.’ So, I headed toward Nashville. By the time I got to his house, he was on to something, and he was like, ‘You’ve got to hurry.’ I pulled my guitar out of the back of the car and ran inside and sat down, and, in 20 minutes, this song was born. It was heard by some folks in Texas, and they all wanted a copy of it, which made us record it, and, then, once we recorded it, it got heard by some people at the Pentagon, and then they started sending me all over the world. The Lord has blessed this song and blessed me with it, blessed so many people. I’m going to sing it for you today. It’s a song called “Heroes and Angels.” ”

After he sang the song, Patsy said that her sister-in-law had told her to hug him for her. “My sister-in-law is amazed by him. He has been a friend to our family, a friend to all Gold Star Families. We’re so glad we had him here today.”

Patsy Finley then introduced Bob McDonald. “He is representing himself as the flag of the United States, and with him is my granddaughter, Kimberly Hyder, who is presenting the flag.”

He asked all veterans and first responders to stand, and the audience applauded. He then recited the following poem, “My Name is Old Glory”, written by Howard Schnauber.

“I am the flag of the United States of America. My name is Old Glory. I fly atop the world’s tallest buildings. I stand watch in America’s halls of justice. I fly majestically over great institutes of learning. I stand guard with the greatest military power in the world. Look up! And see me! I stand for peace – honor – truth and justice. I stand for freedom. I am confident – I am arrogant – I am proud. When I am flown with my fellow banners, my head is a little higher, my colors a little truer. I bow to no one. I am recognized all over the world. I am worshipped – I am saluted – I am respected – I am revered – I am loved, and I am feared. I have fought every battle of every war for more than 200 years: Gettysburg, Shilo, Appomatox, San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome, the beaches of Normandy, the deserts of Africa, the cane fields of the Philippines, the rice paddies and jungles of Guam, Okinawa, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Guadalcanal New Britain, Peleliu, and many more islands. And a score of places long forgotten by all but those who were with me. I was there. I led my soldiers – I followed them. I watched over them. They loved me. I was on a small hill in Iwo Jima. I was dirty, battle-worn and tired, but my soldiers cheered me, and I was proud. I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I have helped set free. It does not hurt, for I am invincible. I have been soiled, burned, torn and trampled on the streets of my country, and when it is by those with whom I have served in battle – it hurts. But I shall overcome – for I am strong. I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stand watch over the uncharted new frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon. I have been a silent witness to all of America’s finest hours. But my finest hour comes when I am torn into strips to be used for bandages for my wounded comrades on the field of battle, When I fly at half mast to honor my soldiers, And when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving mother at the graveside of her fallen son. I am proud. My name is Old Glory.”

Lynn Morgan and the Nurses Honor Guard of South  Carolina then performed the Nightingale Tribute and Last Call to Duty. “We are nurses who volunteer our time to pay tribute to nurses at the time of their death by performing the Nightingale Tribute and Last Call to Duty at the funeral or memorial service,” said Morgan. “This service is steeped in tradition and is similar to military tribute and officially releases the nurse from their nursing duty. This ceremonial tribute is offered free of charge for any South Carolina resident who was an RN, LPN, or APRN, active or retired, who holds a nursing license in good standing with the Board of Nursing from their home state or the state of South Carolina. Their license can be non-active if they were retired as long as they are in good standing with the Board of Nursing. We also offer a living tribute to a nurse who is still living but is transitioning to the final stages of their life. This heartfelt ceremony celebrates their contributions and dedication to the nursing profession. During the tribute, participating nurses are dressed in traditional white uniforms and perform the living tribute service for the nurse and her family. This service is offered for the nurse who is toward the end of life but still alert. At this time, the Nurses Honor Guard of South Carolina will present their program.”

Click below to listen to the Nurses Honor Guard of South Carolina perform the Nightingale Tribute and Last Call to Duty.