APSU officially unveils Governors Military Hall of Fame with induction of inaugural class
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – On a gray morning in early November, more than a hundred people hurried through a wind-swept parking lot into the bright, warm interior of the Austin Peay State University Newton Military Family Resource Center. The visitors that day – many of them in uniform or wearing reminders of their service to their country – came from across the country to watch the unveiling of the University’s new Governors Military Hall of Fame.
“Today, we celebrate an important and long overdue moment in this University’s 95-year history,” Dr. Mike Licari, APSU president, said. “When the Austin Peay Normal School first opened nine decades ago, we embraced the World War I veterans who joined our faculty. In the years since, our campus – as evident by the class we’re honoring today – has produced some of the finest individuals to serve our country. They’ve made our military stronger, our nation safer, but we’ve never had a long-standing display of the pride we feel for these men and women. That oversight changes today.”
At those words, Licari and Maj. Gen. (retired) Walt Lord, APSU military advisor in residence, removed a black curtain to reveal the new Hall of Fame display. The University used special dog tags inscribed with the names of the inductees for this new exhibit.
“The Austin Peay State University Governor’s Military Hall of Fame is now a permanent addition to this campus, where it will inspire future generations of students, faculty, staff and visitors,” Licari said. “This display is an expression of the joy and gratitude we feel being connected, through this University, to these noble defenders of our freedom. We honor this inaugural group today, and we look forward to honoring many more in the years to come.”
The night before the ceremony, the University hosted a special dinner honoring the 13 inaugural inductees and their families. The first members of the Hall of Fame are:
- The Late Lt. Col Frank Adkins – Adkins, a highly decorated World War II veteran, graduated from the Austin Peay Normal School in 1936. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps in 1940, and he went on to receive the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and a Distinguished Flying Cross as a heroic P-40 fighter plane pilot during the war.
- Retired Brig. Gen. Paul Bontrager – Bontrager, vice president at the Sierra Nevada Corporation, graduated from Austin Peay in 1987 as a ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate (he was in the top 20 percent of cadets nationwide graduating that year). That began his illustrious military career as an officer, which included his commanding the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell and culminated with his promotion to brigadier general.
- Retired Lt. Col. Dewey Browder – Browder, APSU emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of History and Philosophy, took the world’s first picture of light coming from a laser when he was a young Army photographer in 1963. He would later serve in Vietnam, receiving two Bronze Stars for Meritorious Achievement in ground operations against hostile forces, and in Europe, where he earned two Legion of Merit medals.
- The Late Command Sgt. Maj. Sidney Brown – Brown, a 1985 APSU graduate, deployed to Arkansas with the 101st in 1957 to help desegregate Little Rock High School. He later led patrols as a platoon sergeant through the notorious Iron Triangle during the Vietnam War and spent his retirement serving the community and local veterans as a Montgomery County Commissioner.
- Retired Brig. Gen. Remo Butler – Butler, a 1975 graduate, was the first APSU cadet to become a general officer in the U.S. Army, and he was the first Black officer in the Special Forces to achieve the rank of brigadier general. He spent most of his impressive 29-year career in the Special Forces, commanding at every level, including as commander of Special Operations Command South.
- Capt. Joe Hendricks Fox – Fox, a 1951 Austin Peay State College graduate, served as a U.S. Marine during the Korean War, where he received the Bronze Star with combat V for valor for “expressing complete disregard for his personal safety and fearlessly leading combat patrols deep into hostile territory to engage and destroy the enemy.” He also was cited for “exceptional ability, initiative and professional skill in the performance of his duties” as a platoon commander, and he received the Korean Service Medal with two stars and the United Nations Service Medal.
- The Late Col. David Hackworth – Hackworth, a 1964 Austin Peay State College graduate, was a highly decorated veteran of the Korean War – earning a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts during his two tours – and the Vietnam War, where he helped create and command the guerrilla warfare-style Tiger Force. After retiring, he became a prominent military journalist, writing columns for Newsweek and for national syndication and several books, including the bestselling “About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior.”
- The Late Lt. Col. Halbert Harvill – Harvill, one of the first Austin Peay Normal School faculty members and later the president of Austin Peay State College, fought in the trenches of Europe as an enlisted soldier and later an officer during World War I. During World War II, he was granted leave-of-absence from teaching at Austin Peay to serve as an officer in several military police battalions and local and state Selective Service Boards, before returning to the college as a lieutenant colonel.
- The Late Dr. Preston Hubbard – Hubbard, who spent 33 years as an APSU professor of history, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was assigned to the 509th Signal Company in the Philippines during World War II. He was captured on the Bataan Peninsula in 1942 and survived the grueling Bataan Death March with its death rate of about 400 men a day, later receiving the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the POW medal for his extraordinary service.
- Retired Col. Carrie Kendrick – Kendrick, a 1977 APSU graduate, was the first Black female battalion commander and brigade commander for the Military Police Corps, and her brigade command was responsible for the security, safety and law enforcement of five installations and more than 120,000 soldiers. During her more than 25-year career serving in various military occupational specialty positions, she earned the Bronze Star for combat service, the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
- Retired Capt. John McKay Jr. – McKay, a 1959 Austin Peay graduate and former Governors’ football team captain, entered the Navy Officers Candidate School in 1963 and spent 30 years serving on amphibious warfare ships, mine sweepers, cruisers, destroyers and helicopter carriers. During his career, he served as captain of the USS Spiegel Grove and the USS Shreveport, and in 1989, he took command of Task Force 61 in Anzio/Nettuno, Italy.
- Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Wayne Price – Price, a 1983 APSU graduate and Vanderbilt Life Flight pilot, served as a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot during two tours in Korea, one tour in Honduras, two combat tours in Iraq and a combat tour in Afghanistan. He received numerous medals, including the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal, and he was selected to pilot the commanding officer at Fort Campbell during a combat tour of Iraq.
- The Late Sgt. Osman Samuel Uffelman – Uffelman, a 1951 Austin Peay State College graduate and former teacher and superintendent of Houston County Schools, enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served as an engineer disabling mines. During the war, he fought in North Africa, landed at Omaha Beach on June 12, 1944, and earned a Bronze Star for destroying a German pillbox with explosives
During the Saturday ceremony, inductees or their representatives were presented with special dog tags, matching those on permanent display, along with Newton Center jackets featuring the Hall of Fame logo.
“It really is an honor, but I’m really proud of Austin Peay for doing this,” Dr. Dewey Browder, one of inductees, said. “Taking a public stand about the value of the military, I’m really proud of the University.”
Browder almost had to shout to be heard among all the well-wishers that morning. The room’s temperature steadily rose as people clambered to shake hands and congratulate the inductees. The special ceremony was sponsored by Jack and Margie Turner, but anyone who missed it can still see the Hall of Fame memorial wall by visiting the William E. and Sadako S. Newton Military Family Resource Center at APSU from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“We’re so proud of this facility that I’ll say it again – at 5,200-square-feet, the Newton Center is the largest military student center in Tennessee, and today we’re adding another gem to this to this space with it now housing the APSU Governors Military Hall of Fame,” Lord said.
To view full bios of the inductees, visit this site and click on the honoree’s photo.
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Abigail McKenna, a Middle College senior at Austin Peay State University, has balanced high school, college courses, and journalism. She will earn an associate degree before her high school diploma through Austin Peay's dual enrollment program while writing for The All State student newspaper and exploring diverse academic opportunities.
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