Honoring all
Veterans
Celebrating those who honorably served our country
Charles E. Aldridge
Hugh Aldridge
Matt Bagley
Branch: U.S. Army Rank SPC 4th Class
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy:
Dates of service: 19661968
Rank: Specialist E4
Rank: PO3
Dates of service: 1966-
Dates of service: 1991-
1968
James Junior Barr
Ceylon Barclay
Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Private Dates: 1957, 1961-1962 Ceylon Barclay is pictured leaving for Fort Dix, N.J.
Branch: U.S. Army Rank: SP4, missile crewman Dates of service: 19671969
Don Ball
David A. Balduf
Branch: U.S.M.C.; U.S. Coast Guard Rank: Lance corporal; Retired E-7 chief Dates: 1965-1969; 19701988
Bill Banner
1994
Branch: Army National Guard Rank: Sergeant Sgt. Don Ball with Karami and Jeremy
Michael Barry
Peter Paul Bango
James Bell
Billy R. Blackburn Jr.
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Major
Rank: Sergeant
Dates of service: 1989-
Dates: 13 years
Branch: U.S.M.C. Rank: colonel (Pictured with daughter Sarah.)
Branch: Army 2nd Armored Division Rank: Tank specialist Dates: 1960-1963
Branch: U.S.M.C. Rank: Private first class Dates of service: 19561957
2012
Lee C. Brown Donald Bolster
Branch: Navy Rank: Petty Officer 1st Class Dates of service: 19561983
Grover F. Burchette Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Buck sergeant Dates of service: 19471950
Donald L. Clark Branch: U.S. Army Air Corps World War II
Cory Michael Bryk
Gary Brown
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army,
Rank: Sergeant
101st Airborne
Dates of service: 2003-
Dates of service: 1981-
2007
1987
Lee C. Brown Branch: U.S. Navy/Air Force Rank: Seaman 1st Class/ Master Sergeant Dates of service: 19431946/1950-1969
Brenda J. Grimes Calvert
Darrell Campbell
Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Staff Sergeant Dates of service: 19872000
Donna Howell Coffey
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps Rank: Gunnery sergeant Dates of service: 1978-1991
Joseph H. Bryan
Billy L. Bumgarner
Branch: N.C.N.G.
Branch: U.S. Navy
Rank: Staff sergeant
Rank: ATR 3rd Class
Dates of service: 1965-
Dates of service: 1961-
1995
1966
Herman Clay Cannon
Michael Carter
Luther Church
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Corporal
Rank: Senior master
Rank: Specialist 4
Rank: SBC-5
Dates of service: 1953-
Sergeant
Dates of service: 1969-
Dates: 1961-1964
1955
Dates of service: 1951-1971
1970
Robert Collier
Billy G. Combs
Rick Cornejo
Branch: Army Reserve
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: SFC
Rank: Staff sergeant
Dates of service: 1955-
Dates: 1967-1970
1966
Branch: U.S. Navy Rank: Naval counselor Chief petty Officer (AW) Dates of Service: 19721994
Larry Albert Cornett
Beau D. Cook
Glenn David Cottrell
Estel “Allen” Culler
Joshua Harrington Dockery
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: Army Infantry
Branch: Army National
Rank: SP4
Rank: Colonel
Dates of service: World
Guard
Dates of service: 1971-
Dates of service: 1989-
War II, August 1943 to
Rank: Spec. 4, E4
Rank: E4
1973
2018
June 1945
Dates of service: 1964-1970
Dates of service: 2006-2007
Branch: U.S. Army
Coolidge Cornett Branch: U.S. Air Force Rank: Private first class Dates of service: 19451947
Brandon Mark Dollar Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dates of service: 2009-Current
SALUTE TO VETERANS 2 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
Kenneth Dugger
Ralph Q. Earp
Stacy C. Eggers Jr.
Michael R. Farris II
James R. Fisher
Larry Foster
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: Army
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: Chief petty officer,
Rank: Corporal
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: Captain, chaplain
Rank: Staff sergeant
Dates of service:
corpsman
Dates of service: 1943-
Dates of service:
Dates of service: 1983-
Dates of service: 1972-
2009-present
Dates: 1955-1977
1945
2009-present
2012
1998
Milton Foster
Brandon Friedel
Norman Garland
Jacob R. Gentry Sr.
Colin Gerych
Dan Glowa
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army National
Branch: Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: First sergeant
Rank: Sergeant
Guard
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: Private
Rank: Lieutenant colonel
Dates of service: 1964-
Dates of service: 2007-
Rank: Sergeant E-5
Dates of service: 1944-
Dates of service: March
Dates of service: March
1991
2011
Dates: 1964-1970
1946
2013-April 2015
1954-September 1979
George Perry Greene Sr.
G. Perry Greene Jr.
Martin Gragg
Carl M. Greene
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Clarence V. “C.V.” Greene
Rank: Tec5
Rank: Master sergeant
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Lt. Commander
Rank: E-4
Rank: Specialist 4
Dates of service: 1943-
Dates of service: 1942-
Rank: Airman First Class
Dates of service: 1943-
Dates of service: 1970-
Dates of Service: 1977-
1946
1946
Dates of service: 1952-56
1946
1971
1980
Ted M. Greene
Troy Greer
Branch: U.S. Marine
Branch: U.S. Army
Corps
Rank: E5, 25th Division
Dates of service: 1970-
Dates of service: 1966-
1974
Charles Harmon Branch: U.S. Army Medical Corps
Branch: U.S. Naval Seabees
Raymond E. Harmon Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Specialist-5
Rank: Staff sergeant
1972
Dates of service: 19651967
Dates of service: 19511955
Phillip Henline
David A. Hill
Kenneth Joe Hollars
Bradley Neil Holmes
Branch: Marine Corps
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Sergeant major
Rank: E-7
Rank: EN1-E6
Rank: Staff sergeant
Dates of service: 1942-
Dates of service: 1976-
Dates: 1955-1977
1946
1998
Paul S. Idol
Loyd Earl Isaacs
Dakota Johnson
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy
Rank: Specialist 4
Rank: Specialist 3rd class
Rank: Petty Officer
Dates: 1970-1971
Dates: 1955-1961
Second Class
Branch: U.S. Naval Seabees
Ralph Haner Branch: U.S. Navy, N.C. National Guard Rank: E-4
Ricky I. Greene Branch: U.S. Army
John Hastings Branch: U.S. Marines Corps
Dates of service: 19541962
Dates: 1953-1958
Lawrence Edward Horine
Martin Hubner Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Sergeant (E-5)
Dates of service: 2001-
Rank: 1st lieutenant
Dates: 2001-06
2007
Dates: 1954-56
Jeremy Johnson
Dates: 2012 to present
Branch: U.S. Marine Corps Rank: Sergeant Dates of service: 20022006
Nathan Jolly Branch: U.S. Navy Rank: Petty officer second class
Clyde Jones Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Sergeant
Dates of service: Currently serving
Dates: 1944-1946
Glenn Finley Jones
Joseph Ned Jones
Robert C. Jones
Bobby J. Johnson
George Keistler
Christine A. Lamont
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Gunners Mate 3
Rank: SP-4
Rank: E-5
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: Specialist E-5
Rank: Colonel
Dates of service: 1943-
Dates of service: 1964-
Dates of service: 1968-
Dates: 1949-1951
Dates: 1969-1970
Dates of service: 1998-
1946
1966
1970
2019
“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
– George Washington
SALUTE TO VETERANS www.mountaintimes.com
Anne D. Low
NOVEMBER 2026 • 3
Jack D. Lawrence
Thomas Wright Lawrence
Rickey A. Lee
Arnold Lester
Branch: Air Force Reserves, Nursing Corps
Archie Dean Lyons, Sr.
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army Air
Rank: Lieutenant colonel,
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Lieutenant
Rank: Specialist E-5
Rank: Lt. Col.
Force
retired
Rank: Corporal
Dates: 1942-1945
Dates of Service: 1969-
Dates: 1973-1994
Rank: Captain (retired)
Dates of service: 1990 to
Dates of service: 1951-
Dates: 1942-1945
2010
1954
1970
Archie Dean Lyons
Robert A. Mahoney
William T. Mahoney
John William Main
Donald Martin
Jerry Matheson
Branch: Army Medical
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: NC National
Branch: U.S. Army
Corps
Rank: Captain
Rank: Master gunnery sgt.
Infantry
Guard,
Rank: Staff sergeant
Dates of service: 19511953
Dates: 2005-present
Dates:1986-2017 (retired)
Dates: 1954-1956
Rank: Sergeant
Dates of service: 1965-
Dates: 1975-1995
1969
Christina May
Daniel Medary
James R. Merchant
Michael “Mik” Mikulan
Baxter Wade Miller
Eric J. Millisor
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: Army National
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy
Rank: Commander
Guard
Rank: Captain
Rank: Commander
Rank: Honor guard
Rank: PO3
Dates: 1981-2006
Rank: E4 Specialist
Dates of service: 1961-
Dates of service: 37 years
specialist I
Dates: 2011-present
Dates: 2003-2011
1969
active duty
Dates: 1953-1955
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” – Billy Graham
SALUTE TO VETERANS 4 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
Charles Alan Moody
John Walter Moody
Elizabeth Morales
Steven H. Mueck
Branch: U.S. Navy
Robert Moore
Branch: U.S. Air Force
H.C. Moretz Jr.
1451st Trans. Co NCANG
Rank: Third class petty
Branch: USMC-NCANG
Reserves
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Command Chief
Rank: Sergeant T-E-S
officer
Rank: MSG (retired)
Rank: Senior airman (E4)
Infantry
Warrant Officer 5
Dates of service: 1977-
Dates of service: April
Dates: 1984-2014
Dates of service: Sept.
Rank: PFC
Dates of service: Dec.
1997
1957-April 1961
20, 2013-Present
Dates: 1944-1946
30, 1776 – Oct. 31, 2015
Branch: U.S. Army
Jody R. Page
Steven Nagy
C.B. Newlin
Van A. Norris
James Baxter Norris
James R. Page II
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: Coast Guard
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Security Forces
Rank: Quartermaster
Rank: Captain
Rank: Specialist
Rank: Master Sergeant
Rank: Lieutenant colonel
Rank: Senior master
Dates: 2008-2012
Dates of service 1966-
Dates: 1962-1964
Dates of Service: 1949-72
Dates of service: 1981-
sergeant
2004
Dates: 1981-2010
1996
James R. Page
Vilas R. Payne
Arvin Pearson
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Technical
Rank: Private first class
Rank: Master sergeant
sergeant
Dates: 1957-1959
Dates of service: Jan.
Dates: 1952-1972
Branch: U.S. Air Force
1975-Jan. 1999
Payne Family Pictured from left are MacDonald Payne, U.S. Air Force, four years; Glenn R. Payne, U.S. Marine Corps, three years; Vilas R. Payne, U.S. Army, two years; and Vaughn C. Payne, U.S. Navy, four years.
James “Jim” L. Penley
Colton Phillips
Ronald L. Phipps
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Navy (Seal)
Rank: T-sergeant 5
Rank: Sargeant
Rank: Petty Officer 2nd
Dates: 1941-1947
Dates: 2014-present
Class E-5
Reserves 1947-1957
“If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.” – George S. Patton, General
Dates: 1965 to 1969
Robert D. Phipps
William R. Phipps
W. Austin Potter
Allen Powers
Bob Powers
Kermit Elmer Powers
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: Sergeant
Dates: 1941-1946
Rank: Staff sergeant
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: SP4
Rank: A1C
Dates of service: 1952
Dates of Service: 1983-
Dates of Service: 1959-
Dates: 1953-1957
to 1954
1990
1961
Dates: 1973-1979
Tim Richardson
Alfred S. Rominger
Onsby C. Rose
Bennie Roten
Gordon Rule
John R. Sawyer
Rank: Specialist
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S.M.C.
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Carpenter’s mate
Rank: Staff sergeant
Rank: Specialist 5
Rank: Colonel
Rank: S/SGT.
Dates: 1943-1946
Dates: 1997-2007
Dates: 1968-1970
Dates: 1956-1987
Dates: 1948-1968
Gene L. Smith
Robert (Bob) Snyder
Robert W. Smith Branch: Army and National
Branch: U.S. Army,
Earl Leonard Smith
Guard
Vaughn Dillard Smith
of Topo Engineers
Michael “Mick” L. Smith
Branch: Navy
Rank: Sgt. E 5
Branch: Army
503rd Parachute Regimental
Rank: T-5
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: SS1
Dates of service: Army -
Rank: Private
Combat Team
Dates of service: 1942-
Rank: Sergeant
Dates: 1944-1946
1965-67; Guard - 1979-
Dates: 1944-1945, World
Rank: PFC
1945
Dates of service: 1967-71
1996
War II
Dates: 1941-1945
Branch: U.S. Army Corps
Honoring our Heroes
United We Stand.
SALUTE TO VETERANS www.mountaintimes.com
NOVEMBER 2026 • 5
Gerald E. Staninger
Bill Stokes
Jim Stokes
Landon Stokes
Len Stokes
Ralph Stokes
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: US Army
Branch: US Army
Branch: US Army
Branch: US Army
Branch: US Army
Rank: E5 - Aviation
Dates: World War II
Dates: World War II
Dates: World War II
Dates: World War II
Dates: World War II
Electrician Dates: 1951-1955
Jonathan Sweet Roger Stokes Branch: US Army Dates: World War II
Worth Alfred “Sonny” Sweet Jr. Branch: U.S. Army, Intel Rank: Colonel Dates of service: 19611992
Gerald R. Summerson Sr.
Bradley W. Summerson
Gerald R. Summerson Jr.
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy
Dates of service 1945-
Dates of service: 1972-
Dates of service: 1963-
1949
1976
1967
Stacy F. Taylor
William “Billy” Teague
Rank: T/5
Branch: U.S. Army Air
Dates of service: 19431946
Bricca Prestridge Sweet
Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Colonel
Branch: U.S. Army, Military
Dates: 1988 – present
Intelligence
Pictured with father and
Rank: Lieutenant colonel
veteran Sonny Sweet at
Dates: 1974-1995
left
Cullie Tarleton
Arlis C. Tester
Larry Tester
Branch: U.S.A.N.G.,
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Corps
U.S. Army Reserves
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: Sergeant E5
Dates of service: 1943-
Rank: Lieutenant
Dates of service: 1945-
Dates of service: 1969-72
1946
Date of service: 1956-1964
1947
Army Reserve, 23 years
“Part of the American dream is to live long and die young. Only those Americans who are willing to die for their country are fit to live.” – Douglas MacArthur, General
SALUTE TO VETERANS 6 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
Dewey Thomas Jerry Tester
Dewey Thomas
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Rank: SP-4
Dates of service:1945
Dates of service: 19671969
Branch: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rank: Sergeant, 808th Engineer Aviation Battalion
Ronald Morris Thomas Branch: U.S. Army Rank: Specialist 5 Date of service: 1968-1969
Dates of service: 19411945
Photo taken at Camp Casey, Korea, holding a copy of the Watauga Democrat
Eric D. Thrasher
Buddy Townsend
Gene C. Vandiford
Randy Vines
Branch: U.S. Navy
Branch: U.S. Navy, Army
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Active: 1992-1996
National Guard
Rank: E-4
Reserve: 1997-2003
Rank: Sergeant first
Dates of service: 1961-
class
1965
Thomas R. Wallace
Cecil Walters
Larry Dean Ward
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
173rd Airborne Brigade
Rank: Staff sergeant E6
Rank: Buck sergeant
Lawrence Thomas
Donald P. Thrasher
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Navy
Rank: SP4
Dates of service: 1968-
Dates of service: 1962-
1972
1964
Jim Walker Branch: U.S. Marine
H. Ray Wallace
Branch: Army National
Corps
Branch: U.S. Army
Guard
Rank: Brigadier general
Rank: Staff sergeant
Rank: Sergeant
Dates of service: 1976-
Dates of service: 1965-
2009
1969
Branch: U.S. Army
Bill Warren
John Floyd Warren
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Technician 5th
Branch: Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: Specialist 5
grade Corporal
Rank: Sergeant Major
Rank: Private
Dates of service: 1967-
Dates of service: 1967-
Dates of service: 1941-
Dates of service: 1952-
Dates of service: 1917-
Dates of service: 1965
1992
1969
1945
1974
1919
Michael C. Waters
Ronnie M. Whaley Sr.
Edward A. Wheeler
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: US Army
Rank: Sergeant
Rank: First sergeant
Rank: Private 1st Class
Dates of service: 1993-
Dates of service: 1952-
Dates: World War II
2001
1972
Dan H. Williams
Jerry W. Wilson
William L. Wilson
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Branch: U.S. Army
Dates of service: 1971-
Rank: Specialist 4
Rank: 1st sergeant
1973
Dates of service: 1969-
Dates of service: 1954-
1971
1974
Stacy Ward
Blue Ridge Insurance Service, Inc. COMPLETE INSURANCE PROVIDER
COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL 2026
2026
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED 828-264-2393 Email: chris@ncbri.com 136 Furman Rd., Suite 8 Boone, NC 28607
WWW.BLUERIDGEINSURANCESERVICE.COM
SALUTE TO VETERANS www.mountaintimes.com
William Lee Winkler
Thomas James Younce
Branch: U.S. Navy
Allen Yates
Branch: U.S. Navy
Phil Zeiss
Rank: Chief H.T., diver
Branch: U.S. Army
Rank: 3rd Class Petty
Branch: U.S. Army
1st class
Rank: Specialist 5 (E-5)
Officer
Rank: 1st lieutenant
Dates of service: 1954-
Dates of service: 1979-
Dates of service:
Dates of service: 1962-
1973
1983
1954-1958
1967
NOVEMBER 2026 • 7
Boone WWII naval officer’s insignia returns to service through fellow App State graduates BY MOSS BRENNAN
T
he military insignia of a WWII Navy dentist from Boone have found their way back to active duty on the uniforms of officers who, like their predecessors, have ties to the community. Late last year, Capt. Eric Timmens, United States Navy, Medical Service Corps (Retired), was taking inventory of Legion uniform items when he found a garment bag donated to the post by the daughter of a former naval officer who had passed away in 1989. In the garment bag, Timmens said, there was a small box with WWII-era wartime ribbons, rank insignia, and collar devices indicating the uniform’s owner was a Dental Corps officer. His name was George Dewey Bingham of Boone. He graduated from Appalachian State Teachers College and the University of Tennessee Dental School before enlisting in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps during WWII. According to Timmens, Bingham served from 1944 until 1947 and was attached to the U.S. Marine Corps in occupied Japan right after the war ended and left the Navy as a full lieutenant. “As these insignia were last worn during and shortly after WWII, they have a historical connection and a personal significance,” Timmens said. “The reason the uniform, the rank insignia, and the collar device are of interest is that I am a retired U.S. Navy Medical Department officer. In almost 40 years of military service, I have frequently served alongside Dental Corps officers and immediately felt a bond with Dr. Bingham.” For the last few years, Timmens has taught a class in the Advanced Readiness Officer’s Course at the Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command located in Bethesda, Maryland, which includes United States Navy health professionals and technicians in the Medical Corps, Nurse Corps and Dental Corps and is designed to prepare them for increased responsibilities as leaders who understand the “practice and business” of Navy Medicine in operational settings. “After talking with Dr. Bingham’s daughter, we agreed that I would donate the rank insignia and collar devices to the active duty dentists in the class so that they might wear his devices on their uniforms,” Timmens said. But Timmens discovered an unexpected connection when he began distributing the insignias. He donated one of the devices to a married couple who are stationed in Okinawa, Japan. One of the dentists told Timmens that she graduated from App State. Another of the students who took a rank insignia told him that he has a social work degree from App State. “This unexpected connection to Boone made me smile,” Timmens said. “In a way, this seemed like a fitting way to highlight and honor the service of a WWII veteran
Dr. George Bingham in Japan in 1946. (Photo courtesy Eric Timmens)
George Dewey Bingham (Photo courtesy Eric Timmens) and continue commemorating his service by wearing his insignia and pins. When you walk into the American Legion Post 130 building at 135 Bear Trail, you immediately get a sense of the history of veterans who served in the High Country from WWI to the present. In a very small way, Dr. George Dewey Bingham’s service is remembered within the Navy Medical Department he served over 80 years ago.”
Thank You
VETERANS HONORING ALL WHO SERVED
Dr. Bingham’s naval insignias. (Photo courtesy Eric Timmens)
SALUTE TO VETERANS 8 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
The Only Battle COMPILED BY MOSS BRENNAN
O
n an April morning in 1781, the Revolution’s violence reached the headwaters of the New River — when a Tory band captured one of Kings Mountain’s commanders, and his brother rode to bring him back. The Revolutionary War was won on distant battlefields, at Kings Mountain, at Cowpens, at Yorktown. But the only armed engagement of the war fought in what is now Watauga County took place closer to home, in the laurel above the New River, and it turned not on armies but on a single man: Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, one of the patriot commanders at Kings Mountain, taken prisoner by the people he had spent the war hunting. The story survives because the 19th-century historian Lyman C. Draper gathered it from the men who were there, preserving their pension statements and letters in his 1881 King’s Mountain and Its Heroes. Watauga County’s own historian, John Preston Arthur, retold it from those sources and local tradition in his A History of Watauga County (1915). The accounts disagree on details — as the participants themselves did — but the main basis of the story is clear enough.
The Colonel They Called Round-About Benjamin Cleveland was a large man — more than three hundred pounds, by the accounts — and a hard one. From his Yadkin Valley plantation, which his men called the Round-About for the horseshoe bend of the river around it, he had led one of the patriot columns at Kings Mountain in October 1780. By the following spring he had returned home and taken up the grim work of suppressing the Loyalists who still moved through the backcountry. His methods were notorious: Arthur records that Cleveland once forced an alleged horse-thief to cut off his own ears with a dull case knife to escape hanging — “all without trial or evidence,” as Arthur put it.
BEFORE THE LINES WERE DRAWN In 1781 there was no Watauga County — nor Ashe. The whole of this high country was the western reach of Wilkes County, itself only four years old, carved from Surry in 1777. That is why Riddle would be carried to Wilkesboro to hang, and why Cleveland’s Yadkin home and his brother on Lewis’ Fork counted as neighbors to a fight near the New River: it was all one county then. The lines that now divide the region came decades later — Ashe split from Wilkes in 1799, and Watauga from Ashe in 1849. The capture site and the rescue site today fall on opposite sides of the Ashe/Watauga County line.
the Perkins house. When one of the Tories, Zachariah Wells, followed him in and tried to shoot him, the heavy colonel seized a woman who was present, Abigail Walters, and kept her between himself and his would-be assassin until the moment passed. Then the band started up the New River with its prize, bound for the stronghold on Riddle’s Knob, some 14 miles off and across what would one day be the county line.
“Hurrah for Brother Bob”
Word went out. Arthur names the party of neighbors who set off in pursuit — young Daniel Cutbirth, a youth named Walters, Jesse Duncan, John Shirley, William Calloway, Samuel McQueen, and Benjamin Greer — while Joseph Calloway rode hard to notify Cleveland’s brother, Captain Robert Cleveland, on Lewis’ Fork of the Yadkin. They camped through a cold night in the gap, without fire, watching for the glow of the Tories’ campfire on Riddle’s Knob. A little after sunrise, five of the advance party crept up and fired on Riddle’s camp at the Wolf’s Den. Cleveland, dropped behind the log he was sitting on as the shots rang The Capture at the Old Fields out. In the telling handed down through the neighborhood, The Loyalist who took him was Captain William Riddle, a he roared encouragement to his rescuers in the voice that Tory leader operating out of a hideout called the Wolf’s Den, carried across a battlefield, cheering on his brother. Only on the knob that still bears his name, west of present-day Wells was wounded; the rest of the Tories scattered, Riddle Todd. By Arthur’s account, on April 22, 1781, Cleveland was and his wife among them. Cleveland walked out alive. visiting his tenant Jesse Duncan at the lower end of the The Reckoning at Wilkesboro Old Fields, on the South Fork of the New River. Riddle and his men — six or eight of them — stole Cleveland’s horses Riddle did not stay free for long. Arthur relates that from Duncan’s barn in the night and led them up the river soon after the rescue, Riddle raided the Yadkin Valley into a laurel thicket above the home of Joseph and Timothy and captured two of Cleveland’s soldiers, David and John Perkins, gambling that the colonel would follow into an Witherspoon — then made the mistake of bargaining. He ambush the next morning. offered to spare them if they would swear loyalty to the He did. Cleveland ran into the ambush and was taken into king and return with a prized horse, the O’Neal mare, to
Where Cleveland was captured. Riddle’s band ran the colonel to ground at the Old Perkins Place on the South Fork of the New River; by tradition he was seized beneath the apple tree at center. Wiley C. Vannoy photographed the site in 1915 — the cabin shown stood on the spot in Arthur’s day, not in 1781. (From A History of Watauga County, courtesy UNCChapel Hill Libraries / Internet Archive.) join his band. The Witherspoons agreed, went home, and came back not only with the mare but with Colonel Ben Herndon and a party of men, who seized Riddle along with two associates named Reeves and Goss. The three were taken to Wilkesboro, court-martialed, and hanged on a stately oak beside the village — a tree Draper noted was still standing and “pointed out to strangers at Wilkesboro” when he wrote in 1881. How Riddle died, though, is one of the places the record splits. Alongside the Wilkesboro hanging, Arthur preserves a tradition in the neighborhood of the Wolf’s Den that Benjamin Greer killed or wounded Riddle there, soon after the rescue — and a third account, from the longtime Watauga Register of Deeds Col. W. W. Presnell, pointing to a white-thorn tree on Brushy Fork Creek where, “reputable citizens of a past day said,” Cleveland hanged Riddle and three of his companions. Two of those men, in that version, were named Sneed and Warren. It was “from a military standpoint, apparently insignificant.” No battle line, no cannon, no place in the national histories. But for the families along the South Fork of the New, the Revolution was not something that happened elsewhere. For a few days in April of 1781, it happened here — in the laurel above the river, on the knob west of Todd that still carries the Tory’s name. This story first appeared in Mountain Times Publications’ High Country 250 magazine, which celebrated the area’s connections to America’s founding.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
Ho oring Americ ’s s Veterans Veterrans Day November 11, 2026
TO SALUTE OUR VETERANS
We humbly honor the service and sacrifices of all our veterans and military families. New_River_LP newriverlightpower New_River_LP
NRLP.APPSTATE.EDU
828-264-3671
Have you, your spouse, or a family member served in the military? We connect veterans and military families with the work and support they need.
The Good We Do Is Because of You | goodwillvetservices.org
SALUTE TO VETERANS www.mountaintimes.com
NOVEMBER 2026 • 9
A hero on land and on sea This story was originally published in 2015 and was written by Sherrie Norris. Melvin passed away in July 2020 at 95 years old.
A
t 91 years of age, Melvin Jennings Norris is a true American hero. He not only served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, by way of “official invitation,” he said, but also, afterward, his love for his country and military service found him volunteering to return to the Navy during the Korean War. Upon his second discharge, he devoted another 30 years to the Navy Reserve and has since been active in several military-related organizations. Norris has a lifetime of memories stored in his mind and heart, as well as in a few scrapbooks and picture albums he and his family have compiled through the years. Some accomplishments not instantly recalled are easily brought to life through his collection of photographs, certificates and awards, and there are plenty. Does he have any regrets? “Only that I couldn’t have stayed in longer,” he said. “It was an honor for me to defend my country.” He considers himself lucky to have come back home when many others didn’t. Born Aug. 31, 1924, and raised in the Rutherwood community, Norris was drafted into the Navy in 1943, “during a war I didn’t know a thing about,” he said. He had graduated from Appalachian High School when, at 18, he said, “I received the same letter from the government that a lot of my buddies were receiving.” Employed at the time in a hosiery mill “making socks for the military,” Norris was offered a deferment, but declined. “I figured I wasn’t any better than any others who were having to go,” he said. He left behind his childhood sweetheart, Rosa Lee Clawson, who eventually became his wife. The couple had been courting seriously for four years when he was called to duty. He said he had never been any farther from home than Hickory when he was was inducted in Spartanburg, S.C., and after two weeks, was sent to the Bainbridge Training Center in Maryland before heading out on the USS Burke for destroyer escort duty. He spent 22 months escorting convoys to and from ports in Europe, France, England, Ireland, Africa, Spain and South Africa. Despite a lot of “rough sailing” in the midst of a fierce war, he said he was never seasick or injured, even though they went “straight into the storms,” even a hurricane, on more than one occasion. “We had awful cramped quarters on the ship, and trying to sleep was especially difficult, as we were in bunks, three high, and had to strap ourselves in to keep from falling out,” he said. “It wasn’t just something you took a trip on for fun,” he said. Norris and his crew made 22 round-trips across the Atlantic Ocean,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “And it wasn’t on a four-lane road, eithe.” He clearly recalls going over on Christmas Day and coming back on Christmas Day, but not the same year. After a conversion in a Brooklyn, N.Y., shipyard, Norris’ ship left for the Pacific, where it made several stops before ending up in Japan, where the peace treaty was signed in late 1945. “We were the first that made it into Tokyo Bay and anchored about 2,000 yards from the USS Missouri, where the action was taking place,” he said. “The excitement was great. Everybody was hollering and the guns were firing. There was some partying going on, that’s for sure.” All he could think about was going home, he said, adding, “I’d had enough.” His ship soon returned to Norfolk, Va.
At 91, Melvin Norris was still able to fit into his Navy uniform, something that brought him great pride. (File photo) He was responsible for radar navigation, surface contact, identification and aircraft control. Following another honorable discharge in early 1954, the Norris family returned to Boone.
A new chapter Melvin went to work at the new IRC plant, where he helped move in new equipment and set up for operation, ran maintenance on test equipment and eventually became millwright supervisor.
A young Melvin Norris was drafted into World War II, but later volunteered to serve in the Korean War, as well. (File photo)
Looking back
He was ultimately responsible for the building, utilities and the grounds. “Anything necessary to keep it functional,” he said, including working on the boilers, air conditioners and air compressors.
Today, as Norris reminisces about his military service, it is with a sense of pride, though quietly, that he talks about his accomplishments. Within his scrapbooks are various awards and letters In 1960, Norris joined Snow Masonic Lodge 363 where he of commendations, citing him on numerous occasions for served through all the chairs and was elected lodge master “excellent performance as operation specialist,” as well as for his leadership and accountability. in 1968. Norris has continued to serve through the Watauga He was later named district deputy grand master in the County American Legion and the Disabled American Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Veterans, the latter as captain of the color guard at one He joined the Scottish Rite in 1969 as a 32nd degree time. Mason and in 1991, he was invested to the title of knight He is a member of the Appalachian High Country World commander of the Court of Honor of the 32nd degree. War II Roundtable, attends monthly meetings and was During the late 1960s, Norris and his wife joined the featured in a video collection the organization produced a Eastern Star, both eventually filling all offices in the Hope few years ago. Chapter that they were allowed to fill and served as worthy When asked about the highlights of his military service, matron and worthy patron. Norris did not hesitate to respond. On the state level, Norris served as district deputy grand “It was the honors flight that took 23 of us from here to patron and Rosa Lee served as district grand matron. Washington, D.C., a while back,” he said. “Nothing has ever In 1973, Norris received an associate’s degree in industrial made me feel any more special than the 1,000 or more management from Wilkes Community College. people who were lined up to greet us with cheers and When his father became terminally ill, Norris retired applause when we got there, and then again, the same early and helped cared for “Pa Fred” until his death. thing when we returned to the Asheville Airport that night. It makes you feel good to think people appreciated what The Norris couple bought a motor home in the early you did.” 1980s and traveled to every state in the union, except Alaska and Hawaii. They also toured all of the Canadian Another accomplishment that he’s pretty proud of is provinces, minus the Northwest Territory. being able to still fit into his Navy uniform. They became seasonal residents in Florida for seven “I doubt there are too many that can still do that,” he said years before returning to Boone full time to be near their with a smile. family. He also feels good that numerous members of his family They continue to reside on family property they acquired have served in the military, including ancestors dating back years ago, on which two of their four children and one of to the Revolutionary War, his father in World War I, his their five grandchildren also live. They now have 14 greatbrothers (with him) in World War II, both sons and a songrandchildren. in-law in Vietnam and a grandson who served two tours of duty during the Iraq War. The couple routinely takes part in activities at the local “If there was a war to fight, our family was there,” he senior center and are lifetime members at Rutherwood said. Baptist Church.
TThanking n in all a the e VETERANS for f their t r service. LAND of tthe FREE R because of the BRAVEE.
Saluting Our Veterans
Back to Boone A short time after Melvin went into service, Rosa Lee had moved to Seattle, Wash., where she stayed with an uncle and aunt and worked for a Boeing Aircraft factory in the timekeeping and payroll department. At night after work, she and her cousins would go to the USO to serve refreshments, socialize and dance with the servicemen and enjoyed watching their ships come and go. But, there was only one sailor she yearned to see above all the others. In December 1945, Rosa Lee returned to Boone and began working at the dime store. Norris was discharged from the Navy and returned to Boone in February 1946. The following June, after rekindling their relationship, he and Rosa Lee were married at the home of her mother. They moved to Michigan to work until Rosa Lee became pregnant with their first child, Jim. They returned to Boone and also welcomed their second son, Larry, two years later.
Back to the sea In 1950, unable to find suitable work to provide for his family, Norris said he reenlisted in the Navy and moved his family to Norfolk, where the couple’s two daughters, Sheri and Wanda, were born. It was during this time that the Korean War was fought and Norris was stationed aboard the USS Mississippi, Experimental Auxiliary and Gunnery 128. One of the crew’s experimental functions led to the firing of the first guided missile to fire at aircraft, Norris said, whose job was that of operations specialist of the radar combat information center.
SERVING THE HIGH COUNTRY WITH QUALITY LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES SINCE 1980
Thank you for safeguarding our freedom, protecting our country and preserving our way of life. To all who have served and all who continue to serve, we thank you for your courage, sacrifice and dedication.
HWY 321 BETWEEN BOONE & TWEETSIE RR MON-FRI 8-5, SAT 8-NOON PICKUP & DELIVERY AVAILABLE
Accepting new patients of all ages for Chiropractic, SoftWave®, and Acupuncture.* *Acupuncture services provided on-site by Whispering Waters Wellness
3551 US-321, BLOWING ROCK, NC 28605 (828) 264-4210 highlandlandscapesupplies.net
Call to schedule today! (828) 264-4521 www.boonechiropractor.com
SALUTE TO VETERANS 10 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
Country-wide efforts help return WWI veterans’ belongings to local family BY JILLYAN MOBLEY
in 1898 and served in the 83rd Artillery Army in World War I. iscovered in a shop in Oregon, a worn He had four children. Two of his sons New Testament in a shotgun ammo served in World War II: Ronald Rominger pouch made its way back to the in the Army Air Corps and Air Force, and original owner’s family through a chain of William Rominger as a Paratrooper. Osborn determined veterans. researched both men extensively and found James Greggory, a retired Marine in that Ronald was killed in a training flight South Carolina, has made friends across the in 1952 and had no children living in North country through motorcycle rides to raise Carolina, if any at all. William survived the money and awareness for issues affecting war and married Audrey Shook of Boone. military and veteran personnel. One of his Osborn found Shook’s obituary from friends, veteran Don Pierce of Oregon, found Hampton Funeral Home and in it read that a New Testament and ammo pouch at a second-hand store with an American Legion the couple had a son — Bill Rominger. Membership Card from Post 130, which Osborn said, in his excitement, he said indicated the owner lived in Boone—at least the name out loud. In doing so, his wife at some point. Pierce, a “deeply religious” explained that she graduated high school man, was determined to get the belongings with Bill Rominger and that her cousin back to his home. served in the military with him. She began Pierce reached out to his friend Greggory, searching for his phone number. who lived in South Carolina, and asked Osborn said he called Bill and asked him to find a way to return it to American questions about his family, specifically his Legion Post 130. Greggory said that “people grandfather, to make sure he had the right out west think the Carolinas are one thing,” person. When all the pieces connected, Dewey Rominger served in the US Army’s 83rd Artillery in World War I. (Photo submitted) and though he lived a state away, he agreed he invited Bill to come retrieve his to help because being a veteran is “like grandfather’s belongings on Sept. 15. Bill often went through boxes and safes, lifelong member in Boone. being part of a family.” “I thought it was amazing that the guys hoping to find belongings of his father It is also unknown whether the ammo “When (Don) found that Bible — most of went through all that trouble to get it to and grandfather. He said that one day, pouch the New Testament was discovered us, honestly, are Christian or religious in me. You read about things like this, but while going through a closet full of holiday in is from WWI or WWII, as the models are some way, war has a tendency to make you you never think it will happen to you,” Bill decorations, he found a box containing his similar in appearance. a believer — and we just said, ‘we got to try said about the several people who worked father’s dog tag, completing his collection Bill said he has shared what he has to find this guy,’” Greggory said. to find him and return the belongings. “It of three generations of dog tags, including learned about his grandfather with his means a lot to get that back.” Greggory brought the package home his own. surviving cousins, aunts, and uncles, and after meeting with Pierce at Run for the Bill said he has very few memories of his Bill served in the army toward the end has been inspired to look into the history of Wall in Washington, D.C., in May and grandfather, but has been told he was a of the Vietnam War and was stationed other members of his family. planned to meet with his cousin, Ken “gentle, kind” man. He remembered a story in Germany. He said he was in the 83rd Many veterans participated in returning Shanley, in Blowing Rock. Shanley is a he was often told about his grandfather Detachment, the same number as the the New Testament, ammo pouch and retired veteran who flew helicopters in the giving his mother his car so she would not artillery his grandfather served in, “50 some membership card to Bill. He once said, Vietnam War. have to drive a baby around in “the old “You’re military; you’re always military,” and rough truck” the family owned for farming. years later.” The pair contacted the National that he was grateful for the determination Bill said no one is sure how Rominger’ s Headquarters Division of American Legion In the 1970s, Bill said he was walking of Pierce, Greggory, Shanley, and Osborn. belongings ended up in Oregon. Rominger after having no luck in reaching someone along the dirt road in Laurel Creek near served in a horse-drawn cavalry in at Post 130. The headquarters then emailed where his grandparents once lived and “Getting a World War I veteran’s family Wyoming and was later sent to California Post 130’s admin, Larry Osborn, who gladly his Bible because, for whatever reason, where his grandmother ran the post office took on the challenge of tracing the card he stuck that American Legion card in the when he saw what he thought was a dollar for training. Bill said he found American back to its rightful owner. Legion Membership Cards belonging to his Bible, it truly is an amazing story,” Greggory coin on the side of the road. He said he grandfather, which he kept for many years said. “To be able to do this for one of the kicked the piece of metal to loosen it from Osborn, a retired Air Force veteran, until his passing, suggesting he was likely a Doughboys — that’s way cool.” the dirt, and when he picked it up, he saw said he used his experience in genealogy research and the limited information on the his grandfather’s name. It was a dog tag from WWI with the information of Dewey card to begin his search. Rominger engraved into it. The American Legion card found in the Bill said that his grandfather passed New Testament was for a 1936 membership away in 1955 when he was 3 years old but belonging to Dewey Admiral Rominger. that he “always felt close to him.” While Through conducting his research, Osborn said he discovered that Rominger was born caring for his mother before she passed,
D
In the 1970s, Bill Rominger found his grandfather’s dog tag on the side of the road near the post office his grandmother once ran. (Photo by Jillyan Mobley)
Dewey Rominger’s 1936 American Legion Post 130 membership card tucked in his New Testament was the key in getting his belongings back to Boone.. (Photo by Jillyan Mobley)
SALUTE TO VETERANS www.mountaintimes.com
Sonar Technician 3rd Class Alexander Tester, from Boone, directs line handlers on the fo’c’sle of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123) during a replenishment-at-sea in the South China Sea as seen on May 8, 2025.. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Peter K. McHaddad)
U.S. Army Capt. Isaac Watson of Boone hands a 35-pound box of rice to an Afghani in Bamyan, Afghanistan, on April 7, 2012. The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade distributed dozens of boxes of food donated through Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization in the United States. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Task Force Poseidon Public Affairs)
Parkway Elementary School students applaud as Robert Bumbaugh, a veteran of the United States Navy, makes his way through a parade during the school’s Bring-a-Vet program on Friday. (Photo by Mark Mitchell)
NOVEMBER 2026 • 11
The Cook brothers from the Bamboo community of Watauga County are pictured in their younger days on the family farm. All six of them served in the U.S. Army during World War II, most at the same time. From left are Grant, Bill, Mac, Dane, Boyd and Doc Cook. (File photo)
U.S. Navy Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Zachary Williams, right, from Boone, North Carolina, and Seaman Apprentice Derek Koester, from Toledo, Ohio, seen in 2019 splicing eyes into mooring lines in the fo’c’sle aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 12. The John C. Stennis was underway conducting routine operations in support of Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jarrod A. Schad)
The Wolf’s Den, on Riddle’s Knob. Here Robert Cleveland’s party crept up at first light and fired on the Tory camp, and the colonel dropped behind his log as the shots rang out. (From A History of Watauga County, courtesy UNCChapel Hill Libraries / Internet Archive.)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE FROM YOUR LOCAL SERVPRO
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. John Tester, a musician with the Marine Corps Base Quantico Band and native of Boone, North Carolina, performs during the annual New York City Fire Department Battalion 18 Sept. 11 Memorial Ceremony at the Fireman’s Monument, New York City, New York, Sept. 11, 2023. The ceremony is hosted annually to honor the first responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. (Photo by Sgt. Kedrick Schumacher)
24/7/365 emergency services
(828)601-3651 SERVPRO — Always Here To Help Buddy Townsend mans the twin 50 caliber gun aboard a Navy river patrol boat (PBR) in the Dong Nai river of South Vietnam. (Official U.S. Navy photograph by Lt. T.S. Storck)
Independently owned and operated
SALUTE TO VETERANS 12 • NOVEMBER 2026 www.mountaintimes.com
Cpt. Howard H. Cook (left) of Blowing Rock repeats an oath after Maj. James H. Shaw (right) to re-enlist into the U.S. Army in November 1953. (File photo)
U.S. Army Capt. Jessica Young as seen in this 2016 photo. (File photo)
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathaniel Henderson operates a mobile, oxygen, ventilation and external suction system, during the Joint Enroute Care Course at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 15, 2019. The purpose of the JECC is to prepare 3rd Medical Battalion corpsmen and nurses to conduct aeromedical evacuation in rotary wing platforms from the point of injury to a higher echelon of care by ensuring optimal enroute patient outcomes. Henderson, a corpsman with Bravo Company, 3rd Med. Bn., Cameron Lucas during his time in the U.S. Marine Corps. Lucas served as a 3rd Marine Logistics Group, is a native of Banner Elk, North Carolina. (U.S. heavy equipment operator and deployed to Honduras. (Photo submitted) Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Terry Wong)
This is a portrait of the late German Bravo Perez, who served as part of the 65th Infantry Regiment from Puerto Rico during the Korean War. He’s the father of Boone resident and Puerto Rican native Kathy Farris and grandfather of Watauga High School graduates Michael and Mariah Farris. (File photo)