Corey Preston \ coreypreston@miconews.comA group of Linn County veterans salute the flag, and hundreds of Jayhawk Elementary students follow suit, during the Pledge of Allegiance at a special Veterans Day Ceremony at Jayhawk-Linn High School. The ceremony included numerous speeches and presentations from students and faculty honoring the veterans.
Join our Mailing List!
Please click the link below to sign up for your community paper mailing list. Stay up to date with all the events going on in your community as well as the latest news.Sign Up Today!
A Day to Honor Our Heroes
Breakfast at Community Center Gives Veterans Chance to Reminisce About the 'Good Times'
By: Corey Preston, coreypreston@miconews.com
That Chester Pollard — a veteran of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne who served in Vietnam from 1965 until 1967 — is reluctant to talk about the more painful realities of his service is something any veteran inherently understands.
By that same token, the stories Pollard was willing to share during a Veterans Day breakfast Friday at the F&M Community Center in Mound City were the type that all members of the unique fraternity of American veterans can appreciate.
“I'll tell you that the R and R was the best, always a good time,” a chuckling Pollard said to his younger brothers, Robbin and Charles, both veterans themselves.
“Oh no doubt,” Charles Pollard agreed with a laugh. “Memories to last you a lifetime, that's for sure.”
Friday's breakfast was awash with memories of the unique experience of service, particularly the good times, the timeless funny stories and laughs shared.
“You could be staring at an Italian woman for two, three minutes, she turns around and what does she do? She says 'Thank you,'” laughed Tom Little, a Korean War veteran, who was swapping stories with fellow veteran Ed Shields. “That's a response we definitely weren't very used to.”
Little told a story of hopping on a bus to basic training, picking up a “red-headed kid from Arkansas” named Billy Jay Holcraft who climbed aboard the bus barefoot.
This struck the other recruits as funny, Little said, but once they got to basic training and found themselves forced one night to find their way back to their tents with no light, it was Billy Jay Holcraft who led the way.
“He may have never worn shoes before, but he knew his way around the outdoors blind, that's for sure,” Little said.
Robbin Pollard shared a story from when he was stationed in Europe in the late 1970s and found himself out on patrol, badly in need of a shower.
Pollard set up a steel pool in a field, warmed up some water and had just settled into the bath, all against Army regulations, when he was discovered by a significantly higher officer: General Alexander Haig, who would soon after be named Secretary of State.
“He caught me out there in the field, and he chewed me out pretty good,” Pollard said, adding that the substance of Haig's reprimand wasn't exactly fit for print. “I was sure he was going to just throw me out of the service, I'm glad he didn't … I'll never forget that one.”
Charles Pollard said that, after serving in the 82nd Airborne beginning in 1982, he was a reservist when he was called upon to serve in Desert Storm.
“I thought they were looking for my wife (who was in active duty at the time),” Pollard said. “Then I get to my base and I'm expecting my unit to be along with me, but nope, I was the only one from my unit being shipped out, which was kind of strange.”
As a communications specialist, Pollard was needed on the ground quickly, he said.
“The general rule for a signal soldier is you're the first one in, the last one out,” he said.
Charles Pollard recalled the early phases of the conflict, how the first night of bombing — Jan. 16, 1991 — by the U.S.stood out as “really quite a show,” but how he experienced “battle after battle” until the Army made its way into Kuwait.
He also recalled the outpouring of support from Americans stateside, who literally overwhelmed the soldiers with care packages to the extent that he was still receiving mail a year after he returned home.
“I remember this gigantic box coming in one day, and they're saying 'Sergeant, you've got to take it,' so we must have wound up with every piece of leftover Halloween candy, cookies, everything,” Pollard laughed, noting that the soldiers were extremely grateful for the support. “We could have opened up a haberdashery right then and there.”
Both Little and Shields agreed that their service had been instrumental in shaping their lives.
“I loved the service. I'd go back in again, but I don't think they take 82 year olds,” laughed Shields, who served in the Navy for 20 years, beginning at the end of World War II in 1944. “I was just a farm kid, didn't know anything. The service gave me an education, made me the man I am.”
“If it hadn't been for the GI Bill I wouldn't have gone to college. There's no telling where I'd be,” Little said. “Being in the service really taught me to be an individual, not just some aimless kid.”
printable version
e-mail this story
By that same token, the stories Pollard was willing to share during a Veterans Day breakfast Friday at the F&M Community Center in Mound City were the type that all members of the unique fraternity of American veterans can appreciate.
“I'll tell you that the R and R was the best, always a good time,” a chuckling Pollard said to his younger brothers, Robbin and Charles, both veterans themselves.
“Oh no doubt,” Charles Pollard agreed with a laugh. “Memories to last you a lifetime, that's for sure.”
Friday's breakfast was awash with memories of the unique experience of service, particularly the good times, the timeless funny stories and laughs shared.
“You could be staring at an Italian woman for two, three minutes, she turns around and what does she do? She says 'Thank you,'” laughed Tom Little, a Korean War veteran, who was swapping stories with fellow veteran Ed Shields. “That's a response we definitely weren't very used to.”
Little told a story of hopping on a bus to basic training, picking up a “red-headed kid from Arkansas” named Billy Jay Holcraft who climbed aboard the bus barefoot.
This struck the other recruits as funny, Little said, but once they got to basic training and found themselves forced one night to find their way back to their tents with no light, it was Billy Jay Holcraft who led the way.
“He may have never worn shoes before, but he knew his way around the outdoors blind, that's for sure,” Little said.
Robbin Pollard shared a story from when he was stationed in Europe in the late 1970s and found himself out on patrol, badly in need of a shower.
Pollard set up a steel pool in a field, warmed up some water and had just settled into the bath, all against Army regulations, when he was discovered by a significantly higher officer: General Alexander Haig, who would soon after be named Secretary of State.
“He caught me out there in the field, and he chewed me out pretty good,” Pollard said, adding that the substance of Haig's reprimand wasn't exactly fit for print. “I was sure he was going to just throw me out of the service, I'm glad he didn't … I'll never forget that one.”
Charles Pollard said that, after serving in the 82nd Airborne beginning in 1982, he was a reservist when he was called upon to serve in Desert Storm.
“I thought they were looking for my wife (who was in active duty at the time),” Pollard said. “Then I get to my base and I'm expecting my unit to be along with me, but nope, I was the only one from my unit being shipped out, which was kind of strange.”
As a communications specialist, Pollard was needed on the ground quickly, he said.
“The general rule for a signal soldier is you're the first one in, the last one out,” he said.
Charles Pollard recalled the early phases of the conflict, how the first night of bombing — Jan. 16, 1991 — by the U.S.stood out as “really quite a show,” but how he experienced “battle after battle” until the Army made its way into Kuwait.
He also recalled the outpouring of support from Americans stateside, who literally overwhelmed the soldiers with care packages to the extent that he was still receiving mail a year after he returned home.
“I remember this gigantic box coming in one day, and they're saying 'Sergeant, you've got to take it,' so we must have wound up with every piece of leftover Halloween candy, cookies, everything,” Pollard laughed, noting that the soldiers were extremely grateful for the support. “We could have opened up a haberdashery right then and there.”
Both Little and Shields agreed that their service had been instrumental in shaping their lives.
“I loved the service. I'd go back in again, but I don't think they take 82 year olds,” laughed Shields, who served in the Navy for 20 years, beginning at the end of World War II in 1944. “I was just a farm kid, didn't know anything. The service gave me an education, made me the man I am.”
“If it hadn't been for the GI Bill I wouldn't have gone to college. There's no telling where I'd be,” Little said. “Being in the service really taught me to be an individual, not just some aimless kid.”