Womack Army Medical Center to celebrate its history Aug. 7

Published 10:00 pm Friday, July 24, 2015

Pictured is the Bryant H. Womack building in Columbus that houses the Polk County government offices. The building was named after Pfc. Bryant Homer Womack, from Mill Spring, who was killed in the Korean War and given a posthumous Medal of Honor.

The Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, N.C. will celebrate its history, staff and patients at an Open House and Organization Day on Aug. 7.

Fort Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center is named after Polk County soldier Bryant Homer Womack. The Polk County government office building, the Womack building, in downtown Columbus is also named after Pfc. Womack. A portrait of Womack was placed in the Womack building in Columbus a few years ago.

Womack was a United States Army Soldier during the Korean War after being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950. He was sent to Korea as a private first class with the medical company of the 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Divison.

On March 12, 1952 near Sokso-ri, there was a firefight where Womack’s unit took heavy casualties. Womack exposed himself to enemy fire to treat wounded soldiers. He was wounded but refused medical treatment in order to continue treating other soldiers.

Womack was the last soldier to withdraw and later died of his injuries. He was just 20 years old.

He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions the next year, on Feb. 12, 1953.

Womack was buried at Lebanon Methodist Church in Mill Spring.

The Womack Army Medical Center was later named after him. The Polk County Board of Commissioners chose to name the county’s building after Womack when it was constructed around 1999.

Born in Mill Spring on May 12, 1931, Womack was the son of George and Julie Womack He had three brothers and one sister and spent his youth working on a farm.

Following is information from a press release sent by the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, near Fayetville.

Womack Army Medical Center’s (WAMC) celebration on Aug. 7 will begin at

6:30 a.m. with a 4-mile WAMC Family Fun Run around the medical center’s Loop Road. The run is open to anyone who wants to join in. Strollers and dogs are welcome.

At 9 a.m., WAMC will host a remembrance ceremony honoring the hospital’s namesake, Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Bryant H. Womack. The ceremony will be held in front of WAMC’s Reilly Road entrance.

From the ceremony, visitors are invited to attend the hospital’s open house, where they can learn more about each of the services offered at WAMC and tour the facility. The open house is from 10-11:30 a.m. Tours will start every 30 minutes (at 9:30, 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m.) from the atrium at the Reilly Road entrance.

The WAMC Organizational Day, open to all WAMC employees and their family members, begins at 11:30 a.m.

No appointments will be scheduled after 11:30 a.m. to allow staff to participate in Organizational Day. The Emergency Department will be open and the 24-hour Nurse Advice Line will be available by calling 1-800-TRICARE, option 1, if you require medical assistance during this time.