South Gibson Star-Times

A Gibson County hero you've never heard of By George Pickersgill Gibson County Veterans Service Officer Having absolutely no de- sire to become a coal min- er like his father, Charles Garrigus, Jr. of Francisco, dropped out of high school . A fter working a short time as a farm hand, enlisted in the Army in February, 1944. In November, 1946, follow- ing an assignment in Lu- zon, the Philippines during World War II, he was dis- charged as part of the nor- mal post-war demobiliza- tion process and returned to Gibson County to resume a normal life. His life howev- er, would ultimately become anything but normal. A fter a brief time of searching for work around the state, Charles, "June bug" as he was affection- ately called by his sisters, quickly realized, he missed the structure and stability of the military and re-enlisted in the Army. He displayed a passion and aptitude for operating trucks and other heavy equipment and had developed a keen understanding of en- gines. Through these skills, he saw great op- portunity in a military career. In the Spring of 1950, while serving as an assistant motor pool sergeant in post-war oc- cupied Japan, Sgt.Charles Garrigus' life was again affected by war. North Korea launched a savage and unprovoked invasion of its neighbor to the south. The 24-year-old Garrigus soon found himself serving in the Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment, 7th Infantry Division on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. Forces enjoyed early success against the North Koreans and easily pushed them northward, back across the 38th parallel. Ma- ny American leaders arrogantly predicted a quick victory and end to the conflict by year's end. What the U.S. failed to account for how- ever was the response of North Korea's neigh- bor the Chinese. China's subsequent entry in- to the conflict drastically turned the tide of the war and thrust Charles Garrigus into the lime- light at an obscure location east of the Chosin Reservoir. This area is easily recognizable to any student of military history as the sight of some of the most horrific and bloody fighting of the entire war. The dawn of November 27, 1950 found Garri- gus' unit trapped in place by a far superior ene- my force of as many as 300,000 Chinese regu- lar soldiers and began a five-day period of bru- tal fighting that would distinguish Charles as a hero. If that situation wasn't hopeless enough, the Korean peninsula was then embraced by one of the coldest winters in recent history and saw temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees (not factoring wind chill). Far more feared than becoming a combat casualty was the thought of freezing to death, a tragic fate to which ma- ny American soldiers would succumb. Three separate notewor- thy events would ultimate- ly identify him as a soldier of remarkable courage and bravery. On November 29, in an at- tempt to link up with near- by friendly forces and affect a breakout from the trapped position, Sgt. Charles Garri- gus capitalized on his superi- or heavy equipment skills by leading a truck convoy of an estimated 60 vehicles in an attempt to reach the friend- ly unit. During the phrenet- ic operation which involved nonstop fighting, two trucks heavily loaded with ammuni- tion and rations were inad- vertently left behind by inex- perienced drivers. Understanding the poten- tial severity of the loss of the trucks, Garrigus, of his own volition, made two separate daring return rushes on foot under enemy fire across 300 yards of open snow-cov- ered terrain to retrieve the trucks and move them to safety, thus preventing capture by the enemy. The 29th and 30th of November con- tinued to see aggressive fighting that included several breaches of friendly lines and mount- ing American casualties. The morning of December 1, following 80 hours of continuous fighting in sub-zero weath- er, saw the commencement of the breakout. The convoy of trucks was overloaded with ca- sualties who desperately needed medical at- tention, but the onset of the movement saw a nearly disastrous event occur. Enemy forces, having overrun an American defensive position, took control of the automat- ic weapons therein and turned their fire upon the convoy. Again, of his own initiative, Garri- gus rallied a small group of soldiers and led a fearless charge on the position, regaining pos- session of the machine guns and turning fire back on the enemy. Garrigus' actions result- ed in an estimated 60 enemy dead and many more wounded, and prevented disastrous ef- fects upon the convoy which was now able to continue its mission. The afternoon of December 1 saw one fi- nal potential mission-ending obstacle, a blown bridge, that threatened to doom the convoy again. Forced to ford the sloppy, half-frozen stream below the bridge, many of the trucks, again operated by inexperienced drivers, be- came mired in the mud. Once again, Sgt. Gar- rigus rose to the challenge and put his excep- tional driving skills to use by personally mov- ing several vehicles across the stream and back onto the roadway. Charles Garrigus, Jr. Duke Energy supports Fostering Families and the children in their care Star-Times Staff Report Duke Energy sees foster families as a critical resource for community strength and brighter futures for the children they volunteer to love. "We are proud to support the Isaiah 1:17 Proj- ect and their mission to help area children in foster care and supporting foster families," said Kurt Phegley, Duke Energy Government and Community Relations Manager. Duke Energy's recent gift of $5,000 to The Isaiah 1:17 Project's Fortifying Fostering Fam- ilies program works to improve recruitment of new fostering families and improve retention rates for all foster families in an effort to pro- vide better outcomes for children in need of fos- ter care. The program also provides resources such as Bags of Hope, Dream Cycles (bicy- cles), holiday support, and a mentorship-based scholarship program called Foster Success. The number of children in need of foster care has increased significantly since 2017 and Southwest Indiana has not been exempt from the associated concerns with such an increase. The greatest concern capturing the attention of The Isaiah 1:17 Project is the 7:1 ratio of South- western Indiana children in need of help and the foster families available to give them care. According to state records, the 11 counties ser ved by the Isaiah 1:17 Project have an aver- age of 800-1, 200 kids with less than 200 foster- The Isaiah 1:17 staff members pictured are Marcia Lambert, Kathleen Elliott Greg Harden and Kurt Phegley of Duke Energy. The 2023 Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSA A) Regional #16 Girls' Basketball Champion Gibson Southern Lady Titans celebrate Saturday night after de- feating Princeton's Lady Tigers 71-55. The Lady Titans, now 21-4 on the year, will face Corydon (25-2) in the Jasper Semi-State Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (EST). (Photo by Mary Sandifar) See story and additional photos in today's sports section. Brief security scare at Haubstadt Community School Man apprehended, but no charges filed By Andy Heuring Star-Times News editor@sgstartimes.com Haubstadt Community School had a brief scare last week when a person entered the school unannounced and then left the school. Police apprehended the man moments later and no charges were filed. South Gibson Superintendent Dr. Bryan Per- ry said a student looking out a classroom win- dow noticed a man outside and then saw the man go into the building. Perry said the stu- dent reported it and officials then saw on vid- eo the man had come into the building and went into an interior room. He said the man appeared to take what looked like a rag and then exited the school. He went to his car in the back parking lot and exited the school parking lot onto CR 1025, headed east and then turned into the other school entrance and parked in front of the school. School officials called police and they ar- rived shortly after the man had parked in front of the school. Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said it was obvious to police the man was having problems coping. Vanoven said it is believed he had a medical emergency affecting his co- herency. Vanoven said the man told officers he needed help. An EMS crew was called and they took the man for evaluation. The following was posted by Dr. Perry about the incident: "Hello, this is Dr. Perry, Super- intendent at South Gibson, with an update on yesterday's incident at Haubstadt Communi- ty School. $1.00 12 PAGES TuESDAy, FEBRuARy 14, 2023 VOLUME 68, NUMBER 31 SPORTS B1 200 medley relay record falls again See SCARE on page 2 NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������������������812-753-3553 Email ��������������� editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE Classifieds �������������� B6 Sports ����������������� B1-3 Opinion ������������������ A3 Church ������������������� B4 History ������������������� B5 Two Sections Fort Branch 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620) See DuKE on page 2 See HERO on page 2

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