By Karah Wilson
karah@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala.—On Nov. 10, Northeast Alabama Community College honored 65 students and staff that have served in a branch of the Armed Forces. This event took place in the lobby of the Lyceum and was attended by several classes, staff, and veterans.
This year there were several special guests honored at this program. The guest speaker this year was Danny Ashley. Ashley is a graduate of Plainview High School, NACC, and Jacksonville State University. He spent 33 years in the DeKalb Public School System as a teacher and administration, along with being principal of Cornerstone Christian Academy in Fyffe for the past 5 years. Ashley joined the Alabama National Guard in 1972. Throughout his time in the military, Ashley became worked his way up through the enlisted ranks, becoming Command Sergeant Major of the Alabama Army National Guard and retired in 2010 with over 37 years of service. “People are always saying that we don’t need to be over in other countries unless we need to be. If we stop fighting them, they will be over here pretty quick,” Ashley said.
Will Ashley, an 8th grader from Cornerstone, gave a speech he had written for the VFW essay contest. Ashley presented his speech which is titled “Freedom is not Free.” In Ashley’s speech, he goes on to tell about the price paid in casualties for us to have the freedoms that we have today and gave numbers of casualties in major wars America has fought since our fight for freedom against England.
“We talk about the war to end all wars, but there’s probably no such thing,” Danny Ashley said. The “war to end all wars” was once in reference to WWII. A special guest at NACC’s program, WWII veteran Walter Watson knew that experience first hand. Watson was born in Jackson County in 1923. He dropped out school to become a farmer. On Aug. 19, 1941, Watson went into the service after being drafted. “We think that the army is mainly older gentleman,” Ashley said. “In fact, the most common age group to fight is between 17-23 years old.” Watson was 18 when he was drafted. He was only supposed to be in for a year, training in case of war, but his one year turned into four years. He trained in South Carolina and was only supposed to be there for 13 weeks. Watson shipped out on Dec. 3, 1941. 4 days later an attack took place on American soil and Watson was there to see it happen: Pearl Harbor.
The last honoree of the program was student Dustin Bailey. Bailey graduated from Section High School in 2005 and shortly after joined the army. He was stationed in Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. On Oct. 18, 2010, Bailey was wounded by a suicide bomber. Because of his bravery during this impact, Bailey received several awards, including the Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart, and Army Achievement Medal. Bailey was able to leave Iraq in 2012 when he was given a medical discharge.
Don’t forget to thank a veteran everyday that you can for the bravery that they’ve shown during times of war, no matter what branch they were a part of. Happy Veteran’s Day to all of those who have fought for the freedoms we have today!
