COUNTY LIFE
Pearl Harbor sailor coming home; Walters identified after 78 years
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
A Navy seaman killed in the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941 will be returned to his hometown of Bowie and laid to rest for the final time after he was officially identified as Fireman 1st Class Bethel Elbert Walters.
The lengthy and painstaking process of identifying remains interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii continues 71 years after they were declared unidentifiable. Recent years have seen more and more of these heroes coming home.
This is the second Montague County serviceman killed at Pearl Harbor to be identified and returned home. In 2018, Seaman 1st Class James C. Solomon was buried at Forestburg after he was killed on the USS Oklahoma.
Walters will be interred during graveside services at 10 a.m. on March 14 at Elmwood Cemetery with Patrick Walters, the sailor’s nephew, officiating. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on March 13 at the White Family Funeral Home.
Read the full story in your mid-week Bowie News.
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on Oct. 12 in the County Courtroom at the Courthouse Annex in Montague.
Commissioners are scheduled to consider issuing a proclamation declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month within Montague County.
The court also will consider accepting $850 in unanticipated revenue for the sheriff’s office generated during National Night Out activities, alongside interlocal cooperation contracts between the Texas Department of Public Safety and Justices of the Peace for Precincts 1 and 2.
An executive session is scheduled to discuss personnel matters pertaining to sewer/septic inspector for the county. Any action would be taken back in open session.
The Oct. 9-11 Art of the Song Music and Art Festival opens Friday night for three days of art and entertainment in downtown Nocona.
The festival opens on Oct. 9 with a Chisholm Trail Art Association Preview Party from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the H.J. Justin Building.
Come see all the entries for the adult show, which formally opens at 10 a.m. on Oct. 10.
Live music will be played by Full Circle Band.
Also on Oct. 9 enjoy a Nocona Nights Street Dance from 7 to 9 p.m. with the Mark Murphey and Highway 82 Band. Cost is $10 per ticket and $200 for a table seating eight. Bring your lawn chairs.
Read the full schedule of events for the festival in your Thursday Bowie News.
These students are nominees for the 2026 homecoming court at Gold-Burg High School. Homecoming royals will be crowned in pre-game ceremonies before the Bears take on Throckmorton at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9. Pictured are: Freshmen: Kenzley Foster and Jackson Allen, freshmen; Yareli Aguirre and Jojuan Grace, sophomores; Zara Andrade, junior and Brayden Odom, Kaylie Duncan, both seniors. Not pictured: Caleb Epperson, junior and Keelyn Case, senior.
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