UNIVERSITY OF SOUT SOUTH T H CAROLINA
VOL. 116, NO. 51 • SINCE 1908
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2014
Commemorating Gamecock
Veterans In Russell House, a veteran still serves
Jeffrey Davis / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Michael Washington has started one game this year.
Taylor Estes / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Jay Burnett’s time in the Army taught him the discipline he said is necessary to run a kitchen.
Familiar campus face opens up about his military past Natalie Pita
@NATALIEPITA
You c a n t y pic a l ly see Sodexo super v isor Jay Bu r net t — com monly k now n a s “M r. Ja y ” — m a k i n g s u r e d i n n e r at Pandini’s runs smoothly. But a college kitchen hasn’t always been his trade. In fact, Burnett is more wel l-t raveled t ha n a n Italian chef. Burnett joined the Army i n 19 74 , i m m e d i a t e l y
af ter he g raduated f rom h igh school. He wa s 18 y e a r s old w he n he w a s sent to Vietnam for seven months as part of one of the last units sent to that destination. He then spent t ime in dut y stat ions in Cal ifor n ia, Korea a nd Eu rope before goi ng to De ser t Stor m for eight months. He spent a total of 26 active years in the military, and is set to retire in August 2016 af ter fou r i nac t ive years. Even from a young age, Burnett knew the life he wanted to live. He wanted to be a soldier.
“K ids g row up say ing, ‘I want to be this, I want to be that,’” Burnett said. “[The Army] is something I wanted to do.” Being part of the military has almost become a Burnett family t radit ion — one of Burnet t’s four children spent eight years in t he A ir Force and his father spent 30 years in the Navy. Bu r net t ser ved i n t he infantr y and helped with f ina nce a nd civ il af fairs before deciding to work as a cook. And eventually, he became the Army’s dining BURNETT • 3
Former Marine finds home at South Carolina Washington revives football career after 4 years of service Danny Garrison
@DANNYLGARRISON
Coming out of high school in 2005, Michael Washington received scholarship offers from South Carolina, Clemson and North Carolina State. But the Gamecock defensive end chose a vastly different path than most prized recruits, choosing to sign with the Marines rather than a football program. Washington spent four years in the military before pursuing his college football career, one that has been that of a journeyman to say the least. He played safety at Allendale-Fairfax High School in A llendale, South Carolina before latching on as a defensive end at the two colleges he’s joined up with. After his four years of service, Washington walked on at South Carolina State, but didn’t appear in any games. He spent a semester WASHINGTON • 3
Feb. 8, 1946 USC provides veterans with 100 temporary housing units.
Sept. 13, 1973
Nov. 11, 2006
Veteran Affairs office to open “in an all-out effort to improve the quality of assistance given to veterans” and in attempt to “improve quality of help for veterans.”
Republican Sen. John McCain spent his Veterans Day in South Carolina campaigning and recalling his memories of being a prisoner of war in Vietnam
Timeline:
Veterans at USC
April 14, 1972
June 21, 1973
Sept. 26, 1984
Vietnam veteran marched on campus in protest of the war. One sign in the protest read, “There is no ‘way to peace’ — peace is the only way.”
USC sponsored an Upward Bound program to help prepare the 57,000 Vietnam veterans in the state for the academic rigor of the college.
South Carolina veterans are paid $180 million settlement in Agent Orange case but request more under the claim that the chemical caused birth defects in children.