Eugene W. Bradham
1920 - 2005

by Sharron Haley
The Sumter Daily Item
April, 26 2005

Manning firefighter remembered as man with sense of duty.

MANNING — His steps were slowed by age, but his service and sense of duty to the Manning Fire Department and the residents of Manning never faltered.

Eugene W. "Gene" Bradham, 84, who died Saturday at a Columbia hospital, dedicated his life to serving Clarendon County as a career and volunteer firefighter.

"Mr. Gene was and always will be an icon of the Manning Fire Department," said Manning Fire Chief Mitch McElveen. "Uncle Gene, as he was known by many, dedicated 34 years of service to this department. This was his home, and we were part of his family. Without Mr. Gene, this department wouldn't be where we are today. He will always be remembered at every training session, department supper and every fire. He will be missed, but never forgotten."

Bradham, although short in stature, was a giant to the young men and women who followed his steps into a career as a firefighter.

"Uncle Gene helped raise me," said Capt. Jonathan Jones, 28, training officer with the Clarendon County Fire Department. "He was always around. He was the mainstay at the fire department."

On Monday, Jones said he considered it an honor having worked with Bradham.

"I was always watching him as I grew up," Jones said. "He was someone you could always depend on being there when you needed him."

Jones said before Bradham retired as a firefighter, it was always a competition to see who could get to the engine first at night.

"He had a few good years on all of us and he was always the first person at the truck," Jones said.

A bachelor, Bradham volunteered for duty every Christmas.

"We'd have Christmas time at our own homes and later on Christmas Day all the firefighters would head over to the station to have Christmas with Uncle Gene," Jones said. "He was always there."