Matthew Cotton Darnell, M.D. (1913-1992) was elected President of the Fayette County Medical Society
He volunteered for active naval service in 1944
Served as medical officer of the destroyer U.S.S. Laffey
He saw action at the D-Day Normandy invasion, The Philippine and Iwo Jima invasions and the battle near Okinawa.
He was wounded during a Kamikaze attack at Okinawa on April 15, 1945
Earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart
Mayo, W. Porter, Medicine in the Athens of the West, Princeton, McClanahan Publishing House, 1999, Print, page 310-312