CAYCE, S.C. — Refurbishing to Brookland-Cayce High School's World War II memorial and cannon is underway.
This all came to be thanks to a little curiosity.
Today, a much more permanent WWII cannon remains.
Johnny Knight, a maintenance worker for Lexington School District Two noticed a cannon in front of Brookland-Cayce High School was in need of some repair. The metal was rusting and the wood was graying, but there was nothing to indicate how it got there or who was responsible for it.
"Because of the way it looked, we wanted to honor whatever meaning it had and just refinish it and then once I did the research and found out the story, then it became something a little bit more and we wanted to really do it with a little more heart I guess you'd say," Knight said.
He was able to find the daughter of the man responsible for the placement of the cannon through social media.
Mandy Odum is the daughter of WWII veteran and Brookland-Cayce High School graduate of 1947, Hiram Manuel.
Johnny saw Mandy's post on a Brookland-Cayce High School Facebook page about her family's history with the cannon, all while she was trying to get the word out and find the right person to refurbish it.
"Johnny's message said that he was looking for any connection to it, and that he was with Lexington two and they were going to restore it. So I messaged him back immediately, came out and met him right away and we're just so thrilled," Odum said.
Mandy says this cannon means so much to her family. They visit it all the time and it even brought tears to her eyes seeing it refurbished today.
"One of the last photos we have of us with dad out, was my brother and I and daddy with his shadow box of memorabilia, standing by the cannon. And just to see it now, and know that his name will be on it, it means everything," Odum said.
The cannon refurbishment project prompted the refurbishing of the other WWII memorial items on the high school's campus.
That includes power washing, removing bushes, repainting and replacing flags at the WWII memorial and monument dedicated in November 2003.
Johnny Knight explains that another coat of paint will be added to the cannon.
Lexington School District Two will also be ordering a plaque for the cannon. The plan is for this plaque to have a QR code that will link to a brand new website about Brookland-Cayce High School's WWII relics and monuments.
Everything is expected to be completed in time for Veterans Day next week.