Dick Polk

George Tillman "Dick" Polk, Sr. died at the home of his daughter on October 8, 2020 in Hampton, SC  at the age of ninety after a brief illness.

Dick married the late Betty Frances Smith Polk on March 15, 1953, and they enjoyed 65 years of marriage until her death in 2018.  Dick is survived by their children, George Tillman "Dickie" Polk, Jr. and wife Sandra, Sherri Elizabeth Polk Brown and husband George, and James Louis "Jimmie" Polk, Sr. and wife April, all of Hampton, SC, together with 9 grandchildren:  Michael, Kevin, Mandy, Wendy, Jamie, Jeffrey, Courtney, Jessica and Carson, 14 great-grandchildren:  Saul, Aaron, Bryson, Kennedy, Delaney, Artie, Delilah, John, Walt, Luc, Elle, Annie, Cade and Lawton James; and one great-great-grandchild:  Lily.  He is also survived by one sister-in-law, Ruby Chassereau Smith Avant, and numerous nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents and four sisters.

Dick was born December 15, 1929 in Hampton, SC, the child of Lucille Tuten Polk and George Tillman Crews.  After graduating from Hampton High School in June of 1947, he worked for Rudolph Kinard's grocery and then Mack Edens in Hampton.  He joined the US Army in September of 1948 and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when the Korean War began.  Transferred with his unit to Korea for service in the war, he served in the headquarters battery for the 555th Field Artillery, known as the Triple Nickel, a unit attached to the Fifth Regimental Combat Team.  As a part of these units he participated in the breakout of the Pusan Perimeter, nearly losing his life at the Bloody Gulch Massacre and the Death Valley Massacre.  For his service he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal with three service stars, the UN Korean Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and the WWII Army of Occupation Medal.

Dick was the Owner and Operator of Hampton Shell Station from 1953 to 1987.  He was a lifetime member of the Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society, founding sponsor of the National Museum of the US Army, a charter member of the Citizen Flag Alliance, a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Member of American Legion Post 108, lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans, and charter member of the National WWII Museum.  He was also an avid fisherman and hunter and was a longtime member of the Unknown Hunting Club.

The funeral service will be graveside at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 in the Hampton Cemetery with full military honors, directed by Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home of Hampton.  In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his memory to the National Museum of the United States Army, PO Box 96281, Washington, DC 20090-6281.