The Daily Times

Navy photographs made me stand very proud to be an American

Too often I never see some of the better minutes from the lives of our nearly 1.5 million Americans in uniform on active duty and a like number in active reserve. Out of the current U.S. population of just over 300 million, it is estimated that just over 4 million are of “military age.”

As a Dogface infantryman from the World War II European campaign, whose biggest nearby weapon was the M-1 rifle I was carrying, the Navy ships and Air Force planes have always attracted my attention. My father, A. H., served on a battleship in World War I, and my son, Neal, served 25 years in the Air National Guard. All three of us were volunteers.

When I saw the photographs, my shoulders straightened and my patriotism got a fresh shot in the arm. I just had to share them with you readers.

Haynes, Jones, Rogers among losses

Jack F. Haynes, 64, died Tuesday. His funeral was Saturday with burial scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in the National Cemetery in Knoxville. Jack was a survivor of the fire and explosions in an accident which killed 134, wounded 161, and almost sank the aircraft carrier Forrestal in the Tonkin Gulf in 1967 during the Vietnam War.

Services were Saturday for Carl J. Jones, head of the UT Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, who has been heavily involved in helping the Smokies attack the Wooly Adelgid which is killing the hemlock trees.

After a 15-year battle with Parkinsons, Leroy Rogers, a Korean War veteran and frequent letter-to-the-editor writer, lost his beloved wife Faye.

Our sympathy to survivors of these and the many others we have lost in recent days.

Dean Stone is editor of The Daily Times.

You must be logged in to Facebook to comment. If you're not logged in to Facebook, a login window will open when you click "comment". Or you can log in now. You may need to refresh your page after logging in via that link.