1stLt George H. Yarborough, Jr., USMC
Class of 1916
Hometown: Mullins, SC
- 1st Lt. Yarborough was awarded the Navy Cross, and the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Fifth Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., in action in the Bois-de-Belleau (Belleau Wood), 23 June 1918.
- Yarborough displayed exceptional bravery when his platoon came under intense artillery fire, by moving from one shell hole to another in the open and steadying his men. After making one trip over his line he was wounded by an exploding shell, but refused aid until he saw that the wounded soldiers with him had been treated and taken to shelter. He died of his wounds on June 26, 1918.
- On December 31, 2019, the US Navy christened the U.S.S. Yarborough (DD-314), a Clemson class destroyer in his honor. In 2019, the stretch of state highway from U.S. 158 to Allen Creek Road in Person County, NC, was renamed the Lt. George H. Yarborough Jr. Highway in his honor.