SILVERHILL — Over 100 people gathered at the corner of Highway 104 and County Road 55 to honor veterans who have served our country, including a Silverhill citizen who spent her life serving others inside and outside the military.

Grace Edhegard Smith, a graduate of Robertsdale High School and the Birmingham School of Nursing, enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Throughout her military service, Smith would travel to North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, ensuring the well-being of individuals. It was during her time in the Army that she met her husband, Warrant Officer Simeon Smith. After his retirement in 1971, the couple settled in Silverhill.

While living in Baldwin County, Smith worked at the Baldwin County Mental Health Department as a psychiatric nurse. She was said to have been eager to learn more, so much so that she continued taking college courses and traveling abroad.

During a ceremony on Nov. 11, the Silverhill Veterans Memorial Organization presented her family with a certificate.

“I can’t tell you what an honor this is,” said Simeon Smith Jr., the son of the late Grace and Simeon Smith. “Grace Edhegard Smith was quite literally conceived in service to others. While at heart she always remained an Alabama girl, she was willing to do whatever it took, wherever it took, to render whatever help she could."

Smith Jr. said over 30 extended family members were present at the ceremony, traveling all over the nation from Minnesota, Florida and Wisconsin.
Silverhill Mayor Jared Lyles expressed pride in residing in a community that consistently finds ways to honor those who have served.

“The community has always had a very large support of the veterans in the veteran community,” he said. “You can tell by the monument that we built that was built right in the middle of town.”

The monument was funded by the SVMO and contains names of people who have served in the military who are from Baldwin County.

“I think it just shows the people around Silverhill understand that honoring veterans, honoring their sacrifice and their service," Lyles said, "is something that has always been and will always continue to be something that is extremely important to us."