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Guardian Program
Everett M. Clark, Jr. – Chairman
SC Division Guardian Program Committee
The idea of an awards program to recognize the members of
The South Carolina Division SCV, who were taking care of the resting
places of Confederate Soldiers, started in the fall of 1992. It was
the brainchild of then South Carolina Division Commander Robert L.
Brown. After discussions with then Division Historian Dennis Todd
and compatriot E.M. Clark Jr., it was decided to move forward with
the program. . Over the next few months the details were hammered
out and the Guardian Program was officially put in place on March
27, 1993, at the South Carolina Division Convention in Folly Beach,
SC. The charter members of the committee were Robert L. Brown, Dennis
Todd, William T. Grissop and Everett M. Clark, Jr. The first order
of business for the members of the committee was to design the Guardian
Pin and Certificate. The resulting pin is unique to the confederation
and is proudly worn by members of the South Carolina Division that
have met the requirements of the program.
At the South Carolina Division Convention in Columbia, SC
on March 26, 1994 the first Compatriots of the South Carolina Division
were awarded Guardian Pins and Certificates. They were Everett M.
Clark Jr., Dennis E. Todd, Robert L. Brown, William T. Grissop, Max
K. Jackson, William E. DuBose, Charles A. Hanson, William Bushall,
Jr. and Randall B. Burbage. The Guardian committee kept its original members until June
of 1996 when former Commander Robert L. Brown decided to retire from
the committee. In recognition of his role in creating the Guardian
program, South Carolina Division Commander Christopher M. Sullivan
appointed Compatriot Brown as an "Honorary" member of the
Guardian Committee, a position that he still maintains. Next to be
appointed to the committee was Guardian, William E. DuBose. The Guardian
committee as of this writing is composed of the following, Everett
M. Clark Jr. Chairman, Dennis E. Todd, William T. Grissop, and William
E. DuBose In March of 1999 the Guardian committee made changes to the
application and rules of the program. The major change being the
recognition of Wilderness gravesites, those being completely neglected
and abandoned in wooded areas. Since the conception of the Guardian Program 156 compatriots
have been approved for Guardian status, with 150 current active Guardians.
Compatriots Vance B. Drawdy, Timothy J. Knowlton, Samuel B. Mendenhall
and J. Ralph Jones, passed away while maintaining gravesites. Only
two compatriots have been dropped from Guardian status after leaving
the SCV. The 150 Guardians of the South Carolina Division Sons of Confederate
Veterans are maintaining approximately 355 gravesites around the
state of South Carolina. The members of the South Carolina Division
Guardian Program are to be commended for all that has been accomplished.
Gravesites and entire cemeteries have been saved, due to the dedication
and hard work of The GUARDIANS of the South Carolina Division. Everett M. Clark, Jr |
