“I went through ROTC at Arkansas State University and was commissioned as second Lieutenant in 1970. I fought in Vietnam and afterwards, for the next 21 years, I spent time in Korea, Germany, the Middle East, Cambodia and several places in America.

“For a short time after Vietnam our country lost its way. That was a very unpopular war, probably a war that wasn’t necessary. It took us years for our army to recover from that, but it did. I think our country and our military learned lessons from this. Soldiers are treated so much better now, and I am happy for that.

“When you go off to war, or when you just go off and leave your family and your friends behind, it is a scary time. I made new friends, but the whole time I was in Vietnam I thought about back home. When I thought about America it meant Monette, Leachville, Buffalo Island to me. You always remember that, you remember everyone back home.

“I think that the way our young military is treated today is a wonderful thing. I am so proud, and it makes our country stronger. I am so proud to be an American. I grew up chopping cotton, and picking cotton. My country gave me the right to be all that I can be. I was not a great student in school, but I developed a love for learning later on. Other countries, folks don’t have all those rights. We have the right to be what we want to be.”