By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — An effort is underway to rename the post office in Pickens in honor of Charles Johnson, the first Pickens County resident killed in the Vietnam War.

During a special called meeting Monday evening, Pickens City Council members unanimously approved a resolution in support of renaming the post office.

Councilman Fletcher Perry introduced Johnson’s family members who were present at the meeting.

Perry asked Judge Perry Gravely and Rev. Isaiah Scipio to speak about Charles Johnson and the Johnson family. Charles Johnson Memorial Park, located at the corner of Lee Street and South Catherine Street, has become an important place for Gravely’s Boy Scout troop. They hold flag ceremonies there, he said.

“I knew where it was, but I didn’t know who it honored,” Gravely said. “When I got into it, I realized there was a very special story behind Charles Johnson. Charles Johnson is not the whole story. The whole story involves his whole family.”

Specialist Fourth Class Charles Johnson Jr. was killed on March 30, 1966, in Pleiku Province. He was 25 years old.

As a teenager, Charles enjoyed reading military

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