Veteran's Day 2025

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

This year I have reworked the video I created to honor the veterans of Lee. While working on the new video for my tribute to the Lee High School veterans, I came up with a total of 155 names of our classmates who served in the U.S. military. This number includes the Classes of 1964 through 1967. While we have had the information about the Classes of 1964-1966 for a long time, Tim Lull was instrumental in collecting the 1967 information. Of that number of veterans, 82 were affiliated with the U.S. Army, 32 with the U.S. Navy, 23 with the U.S. Air Force, and 18 with the U.S. Marines.

I started with the AIsong application to create the song featured at the beginning of the video. Basically, almost all of the lyrics are my own, but the music and voice to sing it were AI created.  AI came up with the initial song format, and I edited it to make it as it is now. The service songs are done by the bands and choirs of the different services. The instrumentals were all created by AIsong, using the guidelines I gave.

Thank you classmates, for being veterans. If you are a veteran or know of a veteran from the classes of 1964-1967 who is not listed, I am leaving the form below for one more week to try to catch the information on any of you who were veterans but do not see your name in the video posted. I will be posting the video on Facebook on Veteran's Day, but can add new names before then.

The Wayback Machine

"Radar Men from the Moon"

 Chapter 10 - Mass Execution

We continue the serial this week, just like they did back in the movies during our times.

I hope you enjoy and appreciate the veterans we shared our classes with. I take great pleasure in recognizing them each year, and I am grateful that our classes of 1964 - 1966 did not have any of our classmates killed in Vietnam or later conflicts. 

"I Love LHS"

Mary Ann Bond Wallace

LHS ‘1964

Tommy, I am so thankful that you put your heart into producing the Lee High School Newsletter. When I graduated from Lee, I entered college at Florence State College (University of North Alabama). With each switch of work and location, I developed new friends. So my connection to Lee High School was left behind. I stayed in contact with some of my high school friends but not many. I think I live life in the moment. 

I do have friends that I have had for over 40 years but none are from my years at Lee. I think about that separation from Lee as I have gotten older and wonder if the death of my brother Al my senior year was part of the reason I don’t have close connections as many of my classmates do. I have always been a friendly person, but I find it hard to attend the Lee functions because I don’t have close relationships. Please don’t take that statement wrong - the people I meet at the reunions have been very friendly and kind to me. 

It is funny to look back at the different periods of our lives. High school at Lee was very special. Then four years at Florence State and getting married in August after graduation and a BS Degree. I started my first teaching job at Applebee Jr. High in Florence the same year. I then moved to Athens four years later and taught the first year J.O. Johnson opened. That year was a hard year. Becoming pregnant and taking off two years and then returned to teaching at Coffee High School in Florence where I retired in 2000 after 30 years of teaching. During those 30 years I coached volleyball, gymnastics, and cheerleaders before female coaches received payment for coaching and once females were paid. 

One month after retiring I became Alabama Women’s Gymnastic Judging Director for the next 16 years. The position was a joy. I was invited to judge meets all over the U. S. and attend many clinics, symposiums, board meetings, etc. Although I traveled to many states and judged some fantastic gymnast, most judging trips did not allow time to really see the cities. Most meets we were in a gyms, convention centers, arenas for three days, 14 hours a day with 12 of those hours spent judging. 

After leaving my position as SJD (State judging Director), I started traveling to Europe with a girlfriend. We had four trips and enjoyed every one of them. Now I spend most of my time at home with the freedom to travel to see our four grandchildren and their involvement with music and sports.

YOU have opened a door to forgotten memories for me.  I look forward to reading what you produce each week. I wish I had had the talent and smarts to have kept a diary like you did. What a wonderful way to truly remember our years at Lee and our experiences. The newsletters have brought back memories of skating at the same rink you shared. Going to football games at Goldsmith Schiffman brought back so many memories. BUT names of people I was with are gone from my memory. 

I don’t think I had friends I met at the skating rink. My father would drop me off and pick me up. I can remember everything about the building and location but I don’t remember any friends. I did not grow up in Huntsville, I entered Lee the second semester of my 7th grade year. Therefore it is hard for me to talk about people I was with. I also feel that I comment too often and I would love to hear from some of the other members of our class.

Thank you for sharing your military career and thank you for your service. If I can ever help you with anything please do not hesitate to ask.  I Love LHS!!!

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Delores McBride Kilgore, LHS '66 , "Love it."

Darla Gentry Steinberg, "I am sure we all appreciate the time and effort you put into this newsletter. Thank you!"