A High School Classmate's Veteran's Day Activities

Tommy Towery 

LHS ‘64

I saw where several classmates posted their Veteran's Day memories on Facebook for others to enjoy. Only one of you sent me something to publish in this week's Lee's Traveller.

Skip Cook, LHS '64, sent me this.

Our only grandchild, Collins Cook, is a kindergartener at Gilchrist Elementary School here in Tallahassee.  Gilchrist canceled their special program honoring all veterans due to COVID-19 several years ago.  They reinstituted the celebration/parade today. Collins asked me if I could go with her and walk in the parade through the school corridors.  As any grandparent would do I said "Yes".  Betsey, who lives across the street from us, has an aunt who is on active duty with the Navy and stationed in New England.  Betsey was heartbroken that Aunt Molly could not attend.  I volunteered to stand in for Aunt Molly.  I didn't know what to expect, thinking that there would be only a few veterans show up.  I was wrong.  The start zone for the parade was covered with "mature' veterans and active duty personnel.  Some of the "old guys" could even fit into their uniforms...I was not one of those.  The doors to Gilchrist opened and we started walking down the corridors lined with K through 5th graders.  They were chanting USA, USA.  Many were waving small flags. The celebration honoring veterans sent my mind back in time.

Unlike many of our classmates at LHS, I did not have a stellar military career - 3 years and out.  I thought back to the summer of 1968 when I was one quarter away from graduating from Auburn and working at NASA.  Mike Jett and I were running around together, and drinking when Mike said let's go see BH (names omitted to avoid any potential embarrassment).  BH had joined the USMC, gone to Viet Nam, and been wounded severely in the arm.  He was going on with his life with no drama.  BH sent me a Facebook notification and wished me a happy birthday last week.  Thanks BH.

On another night the late Bobby Cochran and I were again drinking beer and Bobby said let's go see DB.  DB was one of the very smart people in our class who had dropped out of college and gone into the ARMY.  David and his wife were very gracious to their two unannounced visitors.  While getting up to speed with DB who was back in college after his trip to Vietnam, I discovered that he had gone to Ft. Benning Officer Candidate School and had become a Green Beret.  He told me about diving into a bunker during a sniper situation and encountering another G.I. That G.I. said "Sir you've been shot."  DB said "Where?".  His adrenalin level must have been so high that he didn't realize that a bullet had passed through the area between his lower lip and chin.

Another good LHS friend who lived in the same apartment complex my sophomore year dropped out and joined the army.  He would send cassette tapes from Viet Nam to his old roommate who would play them. It was disturbing to hear him trying to record a conversation with a machine gun shooting in the background.

I have to admit that I stood a little taller after the Gilchrist Veteran's Parade. I wanted to thank all of our classmates at LHS who proudly served in the military and wish the best for them all.

The Wayback Machine

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

This week I asked the Wayback Machine for a song that might be fitting in this time we honor Veterans. Most of you know I am very pro-American and pro-Military, but the song I requested was a not-too-well-known anti-war song. It should not be a surprise that a pro-Military person would support an anti-war song. But if you think about it, who should be more anti-war than the ones who risk their lives in a war. No one wants a war. In our times we had many anti-war songs which we may have disliked the message, we loved the songs. For example "Where Have All the 

So what do you think about 'Bring the Boys Home"? Any likes or dislikes?

Here's a challenge for next week's issue. I am going to ask you not to look up the information on Google but to try to answer a simple question by memory.

Do you have any thoughts on a song that was recorded by Larry Elgart and his Orchestra in 1954 called "Bandstand Boogie"? If you can comment on it without looking it up, that is what I am asking.