A Brookhaven senator was recently recognized for her support ofthe National Guard and became the first Mississippi lawmaker to beawarded the Charles Dick Medal of Merit.

District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, D-Brookhaven, received themedal Aug. 25 from the National Guard Association of the UnitedStates (NGAUS) during the organization’s annual conference in SanJuan, Puerto Rico.

“I knew I had been nominated. But I also knew no one inMississippi had ever been awarded it, so I didn’t get my hopes up,”she said.

The senator, who represents Lincoln, Lawrence and Simpsoncounties, was nominated for her longtime support of the MississippiNational Guard.

“I’m very proud of that,” Hyde-Smith said Monday. “It wasextremely humbling as a civilian to be in the presence of all ofthose decorated soldiers. I should have been honoring them.”

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