Local hero honored at NFL game

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- A retired National Guardsman and Lowndes County native who was injured in Iraq is honored at an NFL game.

Melvin Gatewood was recognized as the “12th Titan” at the Tennessee Titans game Sunday.

The recognition included a video profile of Gatewood on the jumbotron at Nissan Stadium.

He was then welcomed onto the field by a cheering crowd.

Gatewood enlisted in the National Guard after graduating from West Lowndes High School in 2003.

While deployed in Iraq in 2005, he was injured in an IED explosion.

Gatewood was later awarded the Purple Heart.