Milly Burkhart, Corbin, is a Harlan native with an important story to tell about an uncle who died 12 years before she was even born.
Corporal Hiram Cawood Carter was just 19-years-old when he was killed while serving in Italy in October of 1944. A newspaper clipping that was passed down to Burkhart by her mother, Ruth, said that Carter was serving with the U.S. Army’s Company K, 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Division. The clipping also noted that he was a senior at the old Hall High School in Harlan at the time of his enlistment.
Burkhart is also in possession of a hand-written letter that her uncle sent home to his mother and father in Kentucky, just two months before his untimely death.
The letter mentions that Carter’s parents were likely busy with canning, also noting that there are “a lot of grapes” where he was at. He asked about friends and family members back home, including his sister, Ruth, who was apparently making plans to attend Union College that same year.
The letter is especially heartbreaking because Carter writes about hopefully coming home “to stay” soon, adding that, once he returns, nothing would be able to take him away again.
Little did he or his family know that he would only live about eight weeks longer.
“It just tears you up to read it,” said Burkhart, who now considers it her duty to make sure that her brave uncle will not be forgotten.
With no siblings and no living parents, aunts or uncles, Burkhart said, “I’m kind of it” when it comes to keeping Carter’s memory alive.
While she never got the opportunity to meet her uncle, Burkhart recalls her mother saying that he was born on New Year’s Day, and that he liked to eat bananas. In addition to the newspaper clipping and letter, she has also inherited a framed drawing that he did of a coal tipple in the family’s old hometown.
Burkhart is doing her part to ensure that this young man’s sacrifices will not be forgotten. By doing so, she hopes that others with similar stories will also do what they can to make sure the names of their fallen relatives will not become lost to time.
