The outpatient clinic in Hinesville that serves thousands of veterans each year now bears the name of four local soldiers who lost their lives in combat.

With family members of the soldiers on hand, Veterans Affairs officials unveiled the name of the Hinesville VA Outpatient Clinic as the John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp and Frankie Smiley VA Outpatient Clinic on Monday.

Shelly Temple Worthy let out a deep sigh after the ceremony renaming the clinic for the four Liberty County natives, including her uncle, Dan James.

“This has been a journey,” she said. “But I say to God be the glory because it may be a small step but it is a great movement. It touched the heart. Everybody had to feel it in their heart today. You feel the pain, you feel the unity and you feel there’s pleasure, because this journey has been long.”

Local veterans first broached the idea more than two years ago of renaming the Hinesville VA clinic after Gibson, James, Sapp and Smiley. U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents Georgia’s 1st District, recalled what he thought upon first having the idea pitched to him in October 2022.

“When I walked into that meeting, I told myself, ‘there is no way we can make this happen.’ After I left that meeting, I told myself, ‘there is no way we can’t have this happen,’” he said. “And we made this happen, thanks to the community who wanted to honor these people who made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Gibson was with the 1st Marine Division, arriving in Vietnam in October 1967. He was 21 years old when he was killed during the 1968 Tet Offensive. The Riceboro native was killed by small arms fire on February 7, 1968.

Dan James was also from Riceboro and was the youngest of those killed. He was only 20 when his 25th Infantry Division unit was attacked by small arms fire on December 29, 1968.

William Sapp, from Hinesville, arrived in Vietnam in November 1967. A member of the 4th Infantry Division, he was killed by multiple fragmentation wounds on June 7, 1968. He was 25 years old at the time of his death.

Frankie Lee Smiley was a lance corporal with the 1st Marine Division when he was killed by small arms fire on August 25, 1968. He was 24 and had been in country since January 1968.

“Today marks a profound moment in our VA health care system for four extraordinary heroes who gave everything for our nation,” said Scott Isaacks, director and chief executive officer of the VA Ralph H. Johnson Healthcare System, based in Charleston, S.C. “Each of these men represents the very best of American valor and sacrifice. These four young men had their whole lives ahead of them. They chose service over self, demonstrating a level of courage and commitment that humbles us all.”

Along with the name on a sign alongside Highway 84, pictures of each of the four are positioned above the doors leading to the Hinesville clinic.

“We create a living memorial, a place of healing and hope that will serve generations of veterans to come,” Isaacks said. “Each veteran who comes through these doors will be reminded of the price of freedom and the sacred obligation of those who fell in battle.”

David Lyons, Sapp’s brother-in-law, said Monday’s ceremony was “bittersweet.”

“It is sweet we finally got the building renamed,” he said.

Carter lauded the community for its insistence and determination in getting the VA clinic renamed.

“This would not have happened if it had not been for the community,” he said. “They were tenacious in making sure this would happen. It was important to me because it was important to the community. The family members who expressed so clearly how much this meant to them.

“I often say with the Liberty County and Hinesville area, you will be hard-pressed to find an area more supportive of the area than they are here,” he continued. “We are so blessed to have this here. To have this clinic named after these four heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice is truly special.”

Carter introduced the House resolution asking for the renaming. After it was approved by that chamber, Georgia’s U.S. senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, shepherded it through their chamber for passage and eventually to President Biden’s desk for approval. It was signed in May.

But some people who pushed to have the clinic’s name changed, and some of the family members, are urging the federal government not to stop with the monument in front and the pictures inside.

Bruce McCartney, who has been one of those leading the charge to get the four soldiers honored, has assailed the VA for spending more than $100,000 on new signs for the clinic, even before the new name was adopted. McCartney doggedly filed open records requests with the VA to extract the amount spent.

The signage includes the Hinesville VA Outpatient Clinic and the Ralph H. Johnson Health Care System. The Hinesville clinic’s parent hospital is the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C.

“Everything is final except the signage on the building is not right,” said David Lyons. “It is very confusing. The only sign that is lawfully enacted is the little one out front. All the other signs need to come down. Not taking anything away from him — just want it to be legally named by legislation. It’s an insult to the four heroes that their names are not the only ones on that building.”

Kathy Lyons, Sapp’s sister, also questioned the amount of money spent on new signs for the facility — and the placement of the new sign before it was installed in front of the building.

“The four heroes sign should have been up on the portico,” she said. “The amount of taxpayer signing that has been spent on signage wasn’t legal.”

Lashawn Oxendine, Dan James’ granddaughter, never got to meet him, but there were tales from the family retold to her.

“He was a very smart guy, a very handsome guy,” she said. “He was just an amazing guy.”

Oxendine, who traveled to Hinesville from New York for the ceremony, also had a lot of emotions seeing the sign with her grandfather’s name unveiled to the public.

“I feel very honored, very blessed to be here and to see my grandfather to be honored in such a way,” she said. “It was a very long and hard process.”

Carter, whom family members thanked for pushing the legislation through, also said James, Gibson, Sapp and Smiley are more than just names on a building.

“They are Liberty County natives who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “We live in the greatest country in the world. This is another example of why the United States is the greatest country in the world.”