Only a few hundred soldiers left, organizer says
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The 31st Infantry Division once comprised 21,000 members who served in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
Gene Bagwell, a Korean War veteran who describes himself as one of the babies of the group at age 81, tells The Clarion-Ledger (http://on.thec-l.com/1aiurYK ) that only a few hundred members of the division remain.
A monument to the 31st was being dedicated Thursday in Jackson on the grounds of the Woolfolk State Office Building across from the State Capitol.
Bagwell says there are 19 chapters in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, but so many of members have died that many chapters exist in name only.
Bagwell says a collection of photos and yearbooks documenting the history of the 31st will be donated to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
