Heritage Park in McDonough has for a number of years been a special place to honor the men and women who have served this country. The Veterans Wall of Honor is a daily reminder of their contributions as well as a popular locale for Veterans Day and other special occasions.

Now its surroundings are being further enhanced with the installation of two commemorative benches to complement the one put in place earlier this year. The structures are designated in honor of three veterans and are the brainchild of McDonough resident Shelbe Gosdin.

The first one was purchased by Gosdin to honor Wesley Ernest Kutch, who died in April of this year. She did not have a personal connection to him until she was asked by an American Legion chaplain to visit some veterans in the hospital. He had lived in Clayton County for many years and was in Piedmont Henry earlier this year before being transferred to Sacred Journey Hospice where he died. His wife had been sick in a hospital at the same time and actually died a few months earlier, but due to COVID restrictions they could not visit one another for some time.

Kutch and Phillip Gatlin, another man being honored, were close friends as teenagers and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps together. Gatlin later transferred to the U.S. Air Force while Kutch remained a Marine. He and a third honoree, Fred Glassey, shared a number of assignments while in the Corps. Glassey passed away a few months ago in South Carolina.
“I was looking around in the park one day and thought about what a nice tribute it would be to them,” said Gosdin when describing the idea to acquire the benches. She coordinated with Jim Joyce at the Heritage Park museum to put her plan in motion, and after several months the last two were finally delivered and installed last week.

“Wes has not had a memorial service; for whatever reason his family has not had one,” said Gosdin. “I just thought it would be a nice gesture. He was a wonderful person who contributed to his country all these years, and so did his friends.”