Unit 1012 Cover Photo

Unit 1012 Cover Photo

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

REST IN PARADISE: REVEREND JEAN ERNEST DARTER (FEBRUARY 29, 1892 TO 27 AUGUST 1984)



Thirty years ago on this date, August 27, 1984, Reverend Jean Ernest Darter was murdered by Perrie Dyon Simpson in Reidsville, North Carolina. Perrie Simpson was executed by lethal injection in North Carolina, 22 years later on January 20, 2006. Reverend Darter was a chaplain in the U.S Army during World War II. 


"So long as we live, they too shall live and love for they are a part of us as we remember them."
- Gates of Prayer


            We, the comrades of Unit 1012, will make Jean Ernest Darter one of the 26 Christian Martyrs of Unit 1012

Reverend Jean Ernest Darter

Source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=43652341


Statement by The Family Of Rev. Jean Earnest Darter

Our grandfather Jean Earnest Darter was a kind, gentle man who lived his life in service to others.

We, the family, live with the memory of terror Perrie Simpson inflicted upon Rev. Darter, but we are not interested in sympathy or being portrayed as victims. Life goes on and we do our best to make the most of it. Our grandfather would want it that way.

In attending the execution, we are honoring the wishes and memory of our parents and the life of our grandfather. We respect the legal decision determined with extreme care by three sets of jurors in three separate trials. We are thankful for the dedication of the officers, investigators, attorneys, and other legal professionals that worked long hours to properly determine Perrie Simpson's guilt and appropriate sentence.

We believe the death penalty saves lives. Clemson and Emory Universities determined 18 lives are saved as a result of each execution. Other studies indicate that each death sentence and subsequent execution deters up to 25 murders annually.

We hope coverage of Perrie Simpson's death sentence and execution will cause others to think about the consequences of taking a life, respect the law, and increase the value people place on the life of others.

Sincerely, Curtis Faircloth, Grandson The Family of Jean Earnest Darter 


Curtis Faircloth, a grandson of Darter's, who also watched the execution, said it was very peaceful, orderly and humane. "And it should be that way," he added. 

Darter, a Baptist preacher, would have supported Simpson's sentence, Faircloth said. "Punishment in the Bible is severe and complete," he said. "In a Biblical context, what happened last night is appropriate." 

 
            As a number of us, comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP are Born Again Christians, we will dedicate three prayers from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for him and his family.

A Prayer for All Conditions of Men:
O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Burial of the Dead 1662:
I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write; From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours.

Burial of the Dead 1662:
ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We give thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world; beseeching thee that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

            We will also dedicate this song called, ‘The Mansions of the Lord’ to him and his family, as he was a World War II veteran.

Marine Corps War Memorial



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