Gatewood Schools hosted a special pre-Veterans Day Brunch Nov. 10, with vets from several eras showing up to enjoy a musical show by Gatewood students and breakfast hospitality that included Chick-fil-A biscuits, cut-fruit plates and coffee.
After an invocation and the singing of the national anthem, Gatewood elementary students took the stage to sing traditional patriotic songs including Ray Charles’ famous Fifty Nifty United States.
Then Paul Van Haute, county manager for Putnam County and a U.S. Army veteran, describe his time stationed at Johnston Atoll, about 750 miles southwest of Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Van Haute said it was his first time addressing a group of fellow veterans, though he’d been asked several times previously. He said he just felt like it’s important to help younger generations understand and appreciate the sacrifices those in military uniform made and continue to make in order to maintain the country and the way of life they enjoy.
“Some of the folks here are true heroes, like Mr. Rudy Hicks. I couldn’t have more respect for what he’s been through,” Van Haute said of the three-time Purple Heart recipient.
“And several of the others that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are the same way. Everybody who’s served leaves a piece of themselves over there and I just don’t want them to forget how much I appreciate them,” he added.
Hicks said he served as a foot soldier in 1967-’68 with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta and called his Purple Hearts “the Booby prize,” for surviving a conflict that continues to haunt him today.
“It just never goes away,” he admitted, though he finally got help from the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs about 10 years ago and has been taking medication to help him cope ever since.
“For all the years, I just didn’t know and then when I finally went and they told me about it (post-traumatic stress disorder), that’s what I’d been living for 40 years,” Hicks said, his voice cracking at the memory.
“And then I went through, like so many of us did, I went through intense therapy for about eight years. Finally, they said it would be better if you got to where you could talk about it and own it instead of it owning you.
So that’s what I’ve tried to do, and it helped me a lot.” Eatonton’s own Harris Lancaster is a fellow Vietnam veteran who arrived there as a Marine lieutenant and combat engineer in January 1970, tasked with doing mine sweeps and defensive placements.
“Our main thing was to clear what today you would call IEDs (improvised explosive devices),” he said. “If you did your job, it was a good day and if you didn’t, it was a bad day. So, we were pretty fortunate; I did not lose a single person to an IED deal.”
Lancaster said he particularly enjoyed the Gatewood event because the Nov. 10 date also marked the 247th anniversary of the U.S.
Marine Corps’ creation in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. He enjoyed the time spent with fellow veterans, but revealed even at friendly get togethers, there always remains a hint of rivalry between the various U.S. military branches.
“We like to think we’re all a little bit different, but whether that’s true or not, I don’t know,” he said. “But yeah, we’re all veterans, so that’s what really matters.”
Plus, Lancaster said the opportunity to share and show students the kinds of sacrifices that military members make for their country is important to everyone. “You know, whether they ever go in the service or not, you don’t know, but it’s just good to interact with them at this stage,” he said. “Good for them and us.”
Also in attendance was Clarence Wright with his wife, Nell, who moved to Putnam County about three years ago and will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this Christmas Eve.
Wright explained he served for two years early in the Korean War era, but as the only living son in his family line, the Army didn’t send him overseas. He instead served stateside as an administrative sergeant with the Army Air Corps.
Then, he was drafted in 1954 and reentered the Army as a corporal but was soon promoted again to sergeant and majored in radio repair in field operations with Lockheed for several years.
Wright said he especially enjoys the camaraderie of his fellow military veterans. He’s convinced good will always triumph over evil and appreciates the opportunity to share that message with young people, as well as fellow veterans who saw combat and survived.
“We’ve been to many prayer units and prayed for these men and still go,” Wright said. “It’s a wicked world out there, but we know who’s going to win in the end.”