A special Dec. 7, 2024 induction ceremony was held at Zebulon City Hall as new inductees into the Pike County Memorial Hall of Heroes were honored and their heroic stories were shared. Those honored include deputy Chief Petty Officer 3rd Class Harvey Pike who was among 1,177 sailors killed aboard the USS Arizona during the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941; Sgt. Cebran Willis who was killed in action on the third day of one of the most fierce battles of World War II; Special Deputy Sheriff Walter E. Carter who was killed in the line of duty in 1929; and Private Ernest C. Ross who was one of the first Americans killed in combat during WWI and the first from Pike.
Rep. Beth Camp’s remarks emphasized the importance of the Pike County Memorial Hall of Heroes to the community as it provides Pike County history and honors Pike’s native heroes. Sheriff Jimmy Thomas described what the Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement was like in Pike County during the 1920s and 30s when Special Deputy Walter Carter was killed in the line of duty.
American Legion Post 197 started honoring local heroes who died in the line of duty in 2013 and each hero inducted into the Pike County Memorial Hall of Heroes has a shadow box built and displayed in their honor.
“Next year will be the 13th anniversary of the program. We now have 45 inducted Pike County native heroes. Next year we will add one more law enforcement and three military members,” said Post 197’s Bryan Richardson. “We would love members of the public to learn about our local heroes by visiting the Hall of Heroes anytime Zebulon City Hall is open.”
HARVEY PIKE
Harvey Lee Pike was born Nov. 3, 1921 and moved to Concord in the 1930s. At the age of 18, Harvey enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a seaman apprentice. After training, Seaman Apprentice Pike was assigned to the battleship USS Arizona. The ship traveled to Pearl Harbor on Feb. 3, 1941 and made one visit to the West coast of the U.S. on June 11 before returning to Pearl Harbor where training continued and during an accident in heavy fog, the USS Arizona was hit in the bow by sister battleship the USS Oklahoma. The ship had been scheduled to depart Pearl Harbor but due to the accident had to be dry-docked at Pearl Harbor and the crew remained in Hawaii. Pike was promoted to Electrician’s Mate Third Class (EM3) and earned the rank of Chief Petty Officer Third Class. On the early morning of Dec. 7, 1941, he was on board the USS Arizona as the ship’s air raid alarm went off around 7:55 a.m. and the ship’s crew reported to their battle stations. Shortly after 8 a.m., 10 Nakajima B5N2 ‘Kate’ torpedo bombers attacked the Arizona. The aircraft were carrying 16-inch armor-piercing shells modified into 1,757-pound bombs. The Arizona was struck by four of the bombs with three near misses. Just seconds after the hit, the forward magazines detonated, venting through the sides of the ship and destroying much of the structure on the forward part of the ship, causing the forward turrets and towers to collapse, effectively tearing the ship in two. The bombs killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time, including Harvey Pike. The remains of the USS Arizona lie on the harbor bottom as a memorial to the sailors who died that day.
ERNEST C. ROSS
Ernest was born in October 1897 in the New Hope area and worked on the family farm before enlisting in the U.S Army at the age of 19. Three days later, the U.S. declared war on Germany and entered WWI. Private Ross was one of the first American combat soldiers to reach European soil as he arrived in France on June 29, 1917. On July 4, he and his regiment paraded through the streets of Paris to boost the spirits of the French. Private Ross was station in the front lines near Nancy, France when the first American shell of the war was fired at German lines on Oct. 23, 1917. By April 1918, the German Army had pushed to within 40 miles of Paris. On May 28, Ross and his regiment took up their positions for the German attack on Cantigny. On May 31, Private Ross was killed by an artillery round, becoming one of the first Americans killed in WWI and the first from Pike County. He was buried in a temporary grave site and after the war was transported to his final resting place at New Hope Baptist Cemetery in Zebulon.
CEBRAN WILLIS
Cebran Willis was born in October 1917 in Troup County and moved to Lifsey Springs in the 1930s. Cebran registered for the draft on March 17, 1941 and was processed into the U.S. Army in November at 23 years old. While Private Willis was in training, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. declared war on Japan the next day, entering the first world war. Private First Class Willis underwent several years of training and in January 1944, he was aboard a ship that entered the port of Liverpool, England. once there, he and his regiment began training for their amphibious assault on France. On June 6, 1944, known as D-Day, the 4th Infantry Division assaulted Utah Beach in Normandy, France. On June 25, the 4th Infantry Division cleared the Cotentin Peninsula and took part in the capture of the Port of Cherbourg before moving into Belgium where they were among the first Allied ground force to enter Germany and on Sept. 14 attacked the Belgian-German border and the Siegfried Line, the German line of defense obstacles at Schnee Eifel. Willis proved himself as a leader and was promoted to Sergeant. On Nov. 16, the 4th Infantry Division initiated the Battle of Hurtgen Forest but the Germans fired enormous amounts of artillery, filled by savage ground counterattacks. On the third day of the battle, Sgt. Willis was killed in action. He is buried at the Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery in Lifsey Springs.
WALTER ‘EARNEST’ CARTER
Walter ‘Earnest’ Carter was born May 30, 1885 in Concord and spent his early years farming with his family. He married in 1904 at the age of 19 and purchased a farm of his own on Piney Woods Road. His first daughter Jewell was born in 1916 and his second daughter was born in 1926. At the age of 33, he registered for the WWI military draft on Sept. 12, 1918 but due to his age, the war ended before the was drafted. I929, Earnest worked as a carpenter but his brother, Clifton Carter, was a deputy with the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. At 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2, 1929, sheriff Elmer M. Shackleford received a report that an automobile was heading north with whiskey. From 1920 to 1933, there was a nationwide constitutional law prohibiting the production, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages. The sheriff quickly formed a group to intercept and capture the vehicle. Being well known in Pike and readily available at the time, Earnest and two others were quickly sworn in and deputized as Special Deputy Sheriffs. The posse included sheriff Shackleford, deputy Clifton Carter, his brother Earnest, Guy Anderson (his brother-in-law) and H.E. White. They proceeded in two vehicles on Highway 18 west through Molena and were traveling south on Highway 74 when they heard oncoming vehicles approaching. The positioned themselves to block Lawrence Bridge over Elkins Creek on the Pike-Upson border and the first vehicle was inspected and allowed to pass through. As soon as that vehicle moved on, another vehicle approached at full speed and attempted to bust through the blockade, scattering the men. They pursued the vehicle and after a short distance the vehicle stopped and the occupants headed into the woods. The men assembled to split up and pursue the subjects on foot when they noticed Earnest was missing. He was found under the bridge with serious injuries to his head and body and was assumed to have been hit by the speeding vehicle and thrown from the bridge. He had fatal injuries and succumbed to them Feb. 8, 1929. A gallon of whiskey was found in the abandoned vehicle and in April 1929, three youths were charged with his murder but were released due to insufficient evidence. Earnest is buried in Hebron Cemetery near Concord.