Nearly 57 years after Summit resident Pvt. John D. Shaw was killed in Vietnam, a street was named after him Monday in Summit, honoring his sacrifice on Memorial Day.
Shaw, 22, was born Oct. 18, 1942, and killed July 7, 1965.
A ceremony honored Shaw at the Southwest Mississippi Community College student union Monday morning and the unveiling of the new street name took place immediately after the event.
Cedar Street was changed to John D. Shaw Street.
Members of the Summit Town Council, which approved the change, were on hand along with family, friends and other representatives.
Shaw earned a Purple Heart, a Gallantry Cross with Palm and a National Defense Military Merit for honorable service.
First cousin Robert Coleman introduced family members during the ceremony. Coleman and other family members talked about how Shaw graduated from Burglund High School where he was the quarterback on the football team.
“We have waited a long time for this,” said Coleman as he introduced his family.
“I would like to thank you all for your presence and I know that there are members here who were teammates.”
Coleman said there was no greater honor than to have the street named after Shaw on Memorial Day,
“Please keep in mind that there were many who no one ever gave thought to,” Coleman said.
Coleman said he hopes the recognition of Shaw helps people remember other members of the military.
“May God bless these United States of America,” he said.
Shaw’s brother-in-law Edward Robinson and friends Alton Todd and Elijah Wall also spoke.
Rep. Daryl Porter presented a proclamation passed in the state legislature. Shaw’s brother Larry Johnson came on stage to accept the proclamation.
Porter said he did not serve in the military and acknowledged what a great sacrifice Shaw made.
“I did not know Mr. John D. Shaw, but a few words that come to mind are honor, valor and courage because he gave something that a lot of us, even sitting in this room, was not willing to do today, including myself,” Porter said.
Porter said he was glad to see the street named after Shaw.
“It is a privilege and honor for me to stand before you all today,” he said.
“It was a privilege for me to stand before you all today as the House District Representative for District 98 including Pike and Walthall county.”
Summit Mayor Percy Robinson also acknowledged the sacrifices Shaw made. He said how the United States did not recognize veterans as they should have following the conflict in Vietnam.
“It’s not a war,” he said. “It was a conflict. We had citizens in this country who were burning their draft cards, who burned the American Flag and fled and went to Canada. John D. Shaw didn’t do that.”
Robinson appreciated Shaw’s service.
“When he received his induction letter, he boarded a bus,” he said. “First, he said goodbye to his friends and family and he boarded that bus and went to the reception station in Jackson, Miss.”
