The Effingham County Hussars Chapter 2285, United Daughters of the Confederacy honored a Global War on Terrorism veteran in a special ceremony on April 27.

An Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal was bestowed on Sgt. Lucas Joseph Hynes. Hynes served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is assigned to the 1/118 Field Artillery Battalion of the Georgia Army National Guard.  

Hynes received a Purple Heart. He was wounded on Christmas Day 2005.

“I love being a soldier,” Hynes said, “and I believe I am a better person for having had a military experience.”