A Trigg County native was recently honored with a Distinguished Public Service Award.
The Doughboy Foundation reported Terry W. Hamby, the Chair of the United States World War I Centennial Commission, received the award Friday from General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.
They added the award was presented in recognition of Hamby’s “extraordinary contributions as the Chairman of the World War I Centennial Commission.” The award highlighted Hamby’s leadership of the Commission “to completion of its mission to build the United States National War Memorial in Washington, D.C.”
Hamby was appointed to the Commission by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He was elected Chair on September 13, 2017.
Hamby is a Vietnam veteran, who served in the Naval Air Wing. After discharge he joined the U.S. Army Reserve, retiring with 26 years of service in 1993.
During his four years of membership and leadership, Hamby led the World War I Centennial Commission through the design approval process and fundraising effort that ultimately earned the Commission a construction permit for the National World War I Memorial in 2019.
Construction of the Memorial began in December 2019, and the Memorial was opened to the public on April 16, 2021, during the First Colors Ceremony. The Memorial will be dedicated in 2024 after the ‘A Soldier’s Journey’ bronze sculpture is completed and installed.
