Veterans Day: Remembering the Life and Service of WWII Marine Morris E. Canady presented by Author James Morrison

Over the years, Bedford County has seen many citizens join the ranks of our nation’s military, with many of them giving their lives in the pursuit of freedom for all. Please join us as we welcome local author James Morrison for a presentation on Veterans Day and the military service of Bedford County citizens over the years. 

This presentation will also highlight the life and military service of WWII Marine Morris E. Canady, who grew up in Bedford County's Goode community and volunteered, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, to serve in the Marine Corps. PFC Canady was killed in action on Guadalcanal in September 1942, the first Bedford County man to be killed in action after Pearl Harbor. He was buried the next day in the combat area, an intended temporary burial.

Efforts to retrieve PFC Canady's remains in the 1940s were unsuccessful. With a renewed effort in recent years, PFC Canady's remains were located, recovered, identified, and returned to the family in Bedford County for a memorial service and burial on September 28th, 2024.  The presentation will include photos from the memorial and burial services taken by Bedford County resident Sue Moore.

James Morrison is the author of the historical drama Bedford Goes to War, the history Bedford Goes to War: The Heroic Story of a Small Virginia Community in World War II, and the WWII historical novel Class of 1940. He is retired from the Office of the Secretary of Defense; is a member of Bedford's Board Canady American Legion Post 54, and lives in Moneta.

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