McCord Awarded Galloway Scholarship
A scholarship honoring a man who died in service to his country was recently presented to a recent graduate at Vidalia High School. The 2021 Sam Galloway Memorial Scholarship was presented to Walker McCord. McCord is going to the University of Georgia pursuing a career based on chemistry. VHS Principal John Sharpe said, “Walker is a great kid. He made our halls better, and everything that he took on he did it 100%. He was our Star Student, he was the Valedictorian, and he will just be a great asset to the University of Georgia.”
McCord added, “My time at Vidalia is something that I look back on fondly. I had a great four years here, from my classmates and all of the friends that I made, to the teachers, staff, and administration, everyone was just so great to me and made me feel like I belonged. I am really greatful to have had all of the support. “With the new chapter in my life, learning that I have Type 1 diabetes, and with all that has gone on with the pandemic I am wanting to hopefully one day work for the CDC. If I could one day help to cure a disease would just be a wonderful feeling to have been able to have left that mark.” Martha Shepherd, who awarded the scholarship, stated, “It is my honor to be able to present this scholarship to Walker, and we are just so proud of him. We wish him the best of luck at the University of Georgia. We look forward to being able to follow him and watch him grow. We look for a young man is who is very much like Sammy and for someone that Sammy would have been proud to have been awarded this.” The Committee that awards the Sam Galloway Memorial Scholarship is made up of members who were all classmates of the soldier. Each year the committee members donate enough money to award the scholarship so that the seed money can remain in escrow and be available for the scholarships to continue for many years into the future, according to Snell.
The Sam Galloway Memorial Scholarship was created by Galloway’s late mother, and later renewed after her death by his fellow classmates of the class of 1962 at Vidalia High School.
Second Lieutenant Galloway was killed in January 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, while serving as a soldier in the United States Army. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, National Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Service Medal and The Distinguished Service Cross. A shadowbox is hung on the wall of Vidalia High School with his medals, the flag that draped his casket, and his letterman jacket from his alma mater.
Second Lieutenant Galloway was interred in Pinecrest Cemetery in Vidalia with full military rites. Twenty-six years later, his remains were reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
