Dateline: May 29, 2003

Hedley Legion post honors namesakes 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Two World War I veterans received special recognition Saturday from the American Legion Post which bears their names.

Wesley Adamson and Leo Lloyd Lane were immortalized with a handsome black granite marker placed adjacent to the Rowe Cemetery War Memorial by members of the Adamson-Lane Post 287.

With a large crowd in attendance, Donley County Historical Commission Chairman Jean Stavenhagen described the bravery and selflessness of the two Hedley soldiers.

“The courageous deeds of brave American soldiers who gave their lives for their country’s cause did not end in Gettysburg or World War I, or the wars in Europe, Korea, Vietnam or the current war against terrorism,” Stavenhagen said. “The cause of freedom will always deserve heroes, and the heroes will always deserve our devotion as we continue to remember our fallen soldiers in words, monuments and memories.”

Leo Lloyd Lane was the son of J. Walker Lane of Hedley. During the night of Oct. 8, 1918, Lloyd led an Army reconnaissance party inside “no-man’s land” on a battlefield near Compiegne, France. His orders were to locate allied and enemy lines. The men were under heavy barrage and machine gun sniping. As they moved out on a deserted field, the party was attacked by gunfire.

A fellow officer later wrote in a letter to the Lane family, “Lloyd was mortally wounded by machine gun bullets and died within two hours. He was conscious until the last and did not suffer great pain.” 

Lane’s remains were not returned. He was buried by the battlefield with his fallen comrades.

Wesley Adamson was raised in Hedley. The son of S.L. Adamson,  he was sent with National Guard units to the Western Front in France for combat and was killed in battle on October 8 at St. Etienne, France.

The captain of Adamson’s unit wrote in a letter to the soldier’s family, “He was one of the first to go ‘over the top.’ He went forward like the brave man he was, until shrapnel burst near him, and he was wounded. But he did not stop. He fought furiously on, like a man who seemed willing to give his life. He finally ran into the fire from a machine gun and was killed instantly.”

Three years after the war ended, the parents of Wesley Adamson received the Crioux de Guerre and the Silver Star in recognition of their son’s bravery. His remains were brought back to the United States and buried in Rowe Cemetery on September 16, 1921, in an impressive, military service.

To commemorate the sacrifices of these two soldiers, the Adamson-Lane Post 287 of the American Legion was chartered at Hedley on March 4, 1921.

Saturday’s ceremonies also included the Adamson-Lane Post’s traditional muster – or roll call – for the 196 veterans whose remains are interred at Rowe Cemetery. Kay Manuel sang “God Bless America,” Murrell Whitaker and Tommie Saye placed the Memorial Wreath on the monument, and Kristen Dwight played “Taps.”

Also this week, Memorial Day services were held in Clarendon on Monday. Small crowds attended as local Girl Scouts raised the flag at Citizens Cemetery and as VFW Memorial Post 7782 hoisted the colors at the Donley County War Memorial.