Acworth O'Charley's to Honor Veterans, Soldiers

O'Charley's in Acworth is celebrating its reopening by recognizing three military veterans and two active duty service members across five different wars. 

The Hometown Heroes recognition takes place Monday, Aug. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the restaurant's location at 3285 Cobb Parkway NW.

The honorees are members of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5408 in Acworth.

According to a press release from O'Charley's, the honorees include: 

John Graves, WWII

Graves served as a Private in the U.S. Army Air Force during WWII. He was drafted in 1944, and immediately after completing basictraining was deployed to serve in Italy. During his deployment, Graves served as a Tech Sergeant at the European Theatre of WWII in 1945. The Theatre was a large area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. While serving in Italy, the war came to an end in 1945. 

James Easterly, Korean War

Easterly served as a Private First Class in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After being drafted in 1962, he completed his basic training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and was deployed to Kimpo Air Base in Seoul, South Korea. The majority of Easterly’s service was spent at the 38th Parallel – the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) serving as a buffer between North and South Korea. He was a Radar Operator, with duties to scan the area looking for planes, tanks, and enemies headed towards base. Easterly was honorably discharged in 1964.

Donald Henry, Vietnam War

Henry spent a total of ten and a half years in the U.S. Army, serving a deployment to Vietnam from 1971 – 1972. During his service, Henry was a Specialist 5 and Radio Equipment Repairman with the 596th Signal Company. He serviced, repaired, and set up communication for B52 missions, and repaired radio equipment at the Company’s main base. Henry was honorably discharged from the service in 1980 with the rank of Staff Sergeant E-6. He is a Bronze Star recipient.

Lorel Davis, War in Afghanistan

Davis is a Corpsman HM2 in the U.S. Navy, currently stationed at Naval Branch Health Clinic Mayport in Mayport, Florida. He joined the Navy in 2008, and has served multiple deployments to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Afghanistan. While deployed in Qalat, Afghanistan from April 2012 – October 2012, Davis served with the Navy Forward Surgical Team and saw just under 700 military patients. He has been awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and NATO Medal.

Jermaine Henry, Iraq War

Henry joined the U.S. Army in 2009, and is currently responsible for the in-processing of every soldier reporting to Fort Benning, Georgia. Henry’s current rank is Sergeant E-5. He was deployed and served in Kirkuk, Iraq for ten months from 2010 – 2011. While in Iraq, serving as Supply Clerk for seven Army battalions, Henry was awarded the Combat Action Badge and promoted. His future duty assignment will be to Korea in March of 2014.

The honorees will be treated to a dinner for family and friends and will be joined by fellow VFW Post 5408 members. Donald Henry is Quartermaster at the Post, which was recently given an All American Post status for outstanding posts based on participation in VFW programs, as well as membership gains. 

To find an O’Charley’s location near you, visit www.ocharleys.com or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ocharleysfans.