Take a Veteran to School Day

By Jackie Ayres

FAYETTEVILLE — Five local veterans visited Fayetteville High School Tuesday to participate in the History Channel’s Take a Veteran to School Day program.

Fayetteville Mayor Jim Akers, a Vietnam Air Force veteran, Fayette County Commission president Kenneth Eskew, a Korean War combat veteran, World War II Army veteran Bob Woollard, Desert Storm Army veteran Debra Tompkins and Iraq Army veteran Charlie Bryant each took five minutes to tell the high school students personal stories from their days in combat.

Bryant, who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, talked about his training at Fort Drum, N.Y.

He said the temperature was 54 degrees below zero that January. The soldiers slept outside in tents.

“They said it was to prepare us,” Bryant recalled. “We hit Iraq and saw temperatures up to 155 above zero.”

Going from freezing cold to some of the hottest temperatures he’d ever experienced was a challenge.

He also told students stories of how the military helped Iraqi citizens while they were in the country.

With the help of the British, the Americans soldiers transformed a two-room school with no running water or electricity into a new learning facility.

They also went into downtown Baghdad and secured an area for the city to hold its first national election.

“I saw people lined up probably for a mile or farther just waiting for their first chance to vote,” Bryant recalled.

“In the United States, most people won’t even show up to vote. Don’t take your freedoms for granted. People in other countries would love to have what we’ve got here.”

Eskew related his Korean War combat experience. “Korea in itself is a very challenging type of an area to operate in from a military perspective,” he explained.

“You’re in a far-off place and there isn’t much connectivity, except by sea and air, to get supplies, logistics and combat troops there,” he explained.

“I guess the bottom line from the Korean War perspective is ... freedom is not free. This country needs people to volunteer and become a part of that national defense to really protect and preserve the freedoms that our founding fathers have made.”

Woollard got the students’ attention with his recollections from World War II. He lightened the mood by telling jokes about how the other veterans in attendance didn’t know what a real war was like.

“I hope some day you grow up and take care of the country and don’t have to go to war like we had to,” he said.

Akers told the students there were “lots of stories to tell” from his Vietnam days.

“I left my wife in Washington, D.C., and my son was only about 6 months old. It was hard to be away from them that long.”

Tompkins, a retired lieutenant colonel, also spoke about the difficulties she encountered leaving her family behind.

“My time in the military has probably been the most memorable time of my life,” she said.

“I chose the Army as a way to help pay for my education ... You do what you have to do because your country asks you do it. You may be faced with those things,” she told the students.

“So stand tall. Be thankful for the veterans that have come before you. Remember you live in the best country in the entire world. You have the freedoms to make the choices you can make as young adults because of these men who are up here with you.”