Chattanooga’s veteran of the year is a disabled Marine who fought in Vietnam and now serves as a chaplain, presiding at as many as five funerals of veterans in a week.
Lester Eugene Norton Jr. was given the Charles H. Coolidge Award on Saturday at the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council awards ceremony.
“He has given his time and energy to represent our veteran community ... and as such has attended to many veteran families in their hour of need,” said retired Maj. Gen. Bill Raines Jr., chairman of the council. “He has honorably distinguished himself.”
Mr. Norton, who also pastors a church, is a resident of Chickamauga, Ga., and a member of American Legion Post 95. He said his work is meant to pay honor to veterans after their deaths.
“Every military person deserves to be honored,” Mr. Norton said. “I want to make sure that if they served, their sacrifice is recognized.”
For other honors by the group go to timesfreepress.com
Adam Crisp covers education issues for the Times Free Press. He joined the paper's staff in 2007 and initially covered crime, public safety, courts and general assignment topics. Prior to Chattanooga, Crisp was a crime reporter at the Savannah Morning News and has been a reporter and editor at community newspapers in southeast Georgia. In college, he led his student paper to a first-place general excellence award from the Georgia College Press Association. He earned ...
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