During World War I, Rowan County honored the men from its communities who gave their lives in the service of their country: Andrew Alfrey of Morehead, Elisha Conn of Smile, Earl Cornette of Clearfield, William Cundiff of Morehead, Thomas Duncan of Morehead, Corbie Ellington of Vale, George A. Jones of Elliotsville, Thomas Jones of Hilda, William M. Jordan of Morehead, Roy McCleese of Farmers, Troy Mullins of Haldeman, Clarence Ratliff of Farmers, Charles Emmett Reynolds of Farmers, Thomas Rigsby of Craney, and Robert Lee Royse of Morehead. Their sacrifice was linked with the declaration that right is more precious than peace and that lives would be dedicated to fighting for the things held nearest to the heart, words attributed to Woodrow Wilson in 1917.