Celebrating sacrifice

With the approach of Veterans Day tomorrow, one local family is making sure the contributions of one special veteran are remembered. Hudson Webster, the son of Tim and Anissa Russell Webster, recently took some time to honor his great-grandfather, a prisoner of war in World War II.

Anissa, in an attempt to make sure her grandfather's sacrifice is appreciated by Hudson, recently took the seventh-grader at Warren County Middle School to the Warren County Courthouse to view the Prisoners of War monument featuring his great-grandfather's name.

"My grandfather, Joe Houston Green, was captured in WWII and his feet froze," Anissa said. "An English doctor was also captured and took care of him during captivity. Joe thankfully came home much later and married and raised a family. He lived a long life but always had issues with his feet which froze and that later contributed to his death."

After a lifetime in Warren County, the Webster family is planning a move to Lexington, Kentucky at the end of the school year. Anissa said she is trying to pack in all the special McMinnville family memories for Hudson she can before the move.

"We've spent our entire lives here as born-and-raised Warren Countians, but we are moving to be with our three bigger boys who have all chosen to make Lexington their home," Anissa said. "My parents are from here and are relocating as well. It is bittersweet to leave our homeland that raised us all, but we only have one life and our big boys are what's most important. We are all excited to soon all be together again, but we will never forget where we came from."

Part of the special memories Anissa treated Hudson to was a hands-on experience with the courthouse monument as Hudson made a rubbing of his great-grandfather's name.

"Our Pa Green passed away before Hudson was old enough to remember him, but Hudson will always know all that his Pa Green did and how much he loved him," Anissa said.