To serve our veterans, the military, and our communities. Our Vision: Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of this great country. Our Namesake: Captain Mark Garner
Garner’s story is quintessentially American. He grew up playing sports, the games changing
with the season — football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. He won the good citizenship award from the local Daughters of the American Revolution before graduating from Elkin High School in 1997 and moving on to the U.S. Military Academy. He was commissioned a second lieutenant upon finishing at West Point. Like a lot of other young officers, Garner’s career took him down a number of paths. He rose to the rank of captain and was serving as a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment based in Germany when he was deployed to Afghanistan.
“I don’t think America could have a better soldier,” Perry Lloyd, one of Garner’s high school football coaches, said in 2009 after the news hit town. Garner was 30 when he was killed on July 6, 2009, in what was thought to be a relatively peaceful part of northern Afghanistan. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee in which he was riding. The convoy was carrying explosive disposal specialists. But it wasn’t his death that gripped his town as much as the memories of the life he had led there. His mom taught biology at the high school. He married a girl from town, too, and stayed in touch with childhood friends even after he left to attend West Point.
“It would be hard for someone to say something bad about Mark,” childhood friend Dr. Will Ballard said in 2009. “He never sought attention or recognition. He was very unassuming and friendly. He was just a nice guy.”
His soldiers, too, saw that side of him. That’s why many of them made the trip to Elkin for his funeral.
“The thing I liked best about Mark was that he cared about the soldier,” said Sgt. Jason Mazino, who drove three hours from Virginia. “He cared about his guys, and he took care of his guys.”
Lasting memory
It was that funeral — and the outpouring of support — that made a lasting impression on those who worked the hardest to make sure that Garner’s memory will be honored Tuesday.
“It’s a memory I can’t forget,” said Joe Hicks, the commander of the VFW Post 7794. “People came from all over. Seeing that horse-drawn caisson … it really touched this community.”
So much so that the members of the post — as well as townspeople involved with the Elkin Valley trails association and Elkin’s parks and recreation department — were willing to do whatever it took to honor Garner. For the parks and trail folks, that meant asking the National Parks Service for permission to name the segment of the Overmountain Victory National Historical Trail that ran through town for Garner. The Overmountain Trail runs for 330 miles through Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. It follows routes taken by patriot militia in the pivotal Kings Mountain campaign of 1780 during the Revolutionary War. For the local VFW, that meant petitioning the national organization for the right to officially rename it the Captain Mark Garner Post 7794.
“The post was named after William J. Jones, who was killed in World War II,” said Sam Bishop, the post quartermaster. “He is buried in Italy, and none of his family remains in Elkin. The post felt that it was time to move on and honor another local (soldier.)”
All the parties agreed that those were fine ideas, and a ceremony unveiling those changes was scheduled for Veterans Day in Elkin. For the guys in the new Captain Mark Garner Post 7794, the renaming was also about honoring a new generation of soldiers who have served.
“We did think about the younger folks coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq and more recent battles,” Hicks said. “Maybe there will be more interest in joining because it lets them know it’s not just for older guys.”
‘A good man’
For Beth Garner and the rest of her family, the dedication ceremonies affirm the impact that Mark had on the larger community and the fact that his death means something still.
“Even though it’s been five years, it still hits you like it was just last week,” she said. “Knowing that people recognized what a good man he was … he loved everyone. I don’t know anybody who didn’t like Mark.”
After completing his active duty with the Army, Beth Garner said, her son had hoped to continue serving, perhaps by working in the foreign service as a liaison between the military and areas where he had served.
“He was so good at being a diplomat,” she said. “He had no enemies. He loved serving his country, but he didn’t like war.”
The quality that made her son a good man — his concern for others — also made him a good officer. He showed it when he was a kid growing up who fell in love with his hometown, and he showed it over and over in his time in the Army. He was more concerned about the soldiers he might lead into battle than for his own safety.
“When he got his first command, he said, ‘Mom, I just want to bring my men back. I don’t want to lose any men. I need to bring all my men back,’” she said.
“And he did … just not him.”
