Military family to be honored Sunday

The United Daughters of the Confederacy Major George B Erath Chapter 2679 and Sons of Confederate Veterans 2nd Texas Frontier District Camp 1904 invite the public to a special ceremony honoring the military service of six members of the Cawyer family.

The military service award ceremony will be held Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3:30 p.m. at the Erath County Cowboy Church at 4945 US Highway 67 (towards Glen Rose) in Stephenville.

The Cawyer military men being honored are the direct descendants of Captain Andrew Jackson Berry and Rhonda Jane Hughes.

Captain Berry was a Texas Veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto and a Confederate Veteran of the 27th Texas Brigade Co. A 2nd Regiment.

The ceremony will include the bestowal of three Cross of Military Service medals and three National Defense medals to Berry’s descendants, the sons and grandsons of Telefus Cawyer Sr.

Telefus Beverly “Bud” Cawyer, born in 1912, was a respected pharmacist who owned and operated Cawyer Drug Store in Stephenville, Texas from 1935 until 1973.

The Vietnam Cross of Military service is being presented in honor of Telefus Beverly Cawyer II for his service as a Captain in the U.S. Army and Carroll L. Cawyer for his service as a Captain in the U.S. Marines.

A Global War on Terror Cross of Military Service is being presented in honor of Michael L. Cawyer for his services as an Intelligence Specialist 1st class in the U.S. Navy.

“The bestowal of the Cross of Military Service is one of the most prized awards the United Daughters of the Confederacy can give,” the local UDC wrote in a release. “It is the heartfelt tribute of Southern womanhood to those who proved worthy of their Confederate ancestry and who gladly and freely ten dered their services and their lives to this great nation in times of war.”

A Vietnam National Defense Medal is being presented to Roscoe D. Cawyer for his service as a Pharmacy Specialist Sergeant in the U.S. Army.

A posthumous Vietnam National Defense Medal is being presented in honor of Aubrey “Art” Wayne Cawyer for his service as as Gunnery Sergeant in the U.S. Marines.

A Persian Gulf National Defense Medal is being presented in honor of Lloyd Anthony Cawyer for his services as a Machinist Mate (Submarines) 1st Class Warfare Specialist in the U.S. Navy.

“The National Defense medal is a testimonial to the patriotic devotion of worthy Confederate Soldiers and Sailors and their lineal descendants who served in the United States Armed Forces during time of war,” wrote the local UDC chapter. “They have served where they were ordered, and we acknowledge their loyalty and patriotic devotion to our country.”