GUEST COLUMN: As Nov. 11 approcahes, remember Tommy, others by Mike Ragland, Guest ColumnistRn T.Com 11 months ago | 787 views | 0 | 9 | | IT IS ALMOST the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. That was the date in 1918 that the Armistice was signed ending what was known as the Great War. We have since 1945 referred to it as World War I. Over the years it has evolved into a day to commemorate the veterans of all wars.

This year the 11th of November falls on a Friday. Once again the faithful will gather at the tomb of the known soldier Charles Graves in Myrtle Hill Cemetery. They will be there to honor those who have fallen in combat, and to all of those who have served.

I could almost sit at my keyboard and write the names of those that will attend.

There will be a representative or two from all the American Legion Posts and their auxiliaries. In some cases there will be more than a few representatives.

All of the other patriotic organizations will also turn out with their supporters. And of course a goodly number of old men like me will be there wearing a baseball cap with a ship or a units name on it. Just an indication of where and when we served.

The local politicians will also gather, or at least some of them. Some are always there. They know who they are and so does everybody else. The others are usually missing in action.

But think about it. They shouldn’t come simply because they are elected officials and feel obligated. No one should come because of that reason. You should feel it in your heart, and that ought to be enough to compel you to show up.

The Model High School Band will be there, they always represent themselves and their school proudly.

WE’LL HAVE a wreath placed at the known soldier’s grave. A flag will be hoisted up to the top of the flagpole and then lowered to half-mast. A pretty good speaker will expound on the virtues and contributions of the veterans throughout the years. Then we’ll close the ceremony with a rifle salute and taps.

A prayer will follow and we’ll reconvene at Post #5 of the American Legion for a little barbecue and fellowship. Time of service will normally be around 45 minutes and certainly no longer than an hour.

This is the average service that we do each year. I’ve missed few in the last 50 years and they’ve changed little over that time. There is however one major exception. All of our World War I vets are gone, and a great number of World War II and Korean vets also have passed on to glory.

It does look like the crowds over the last few years have grown a little, although not nearly enough.

You don’t have to have prior military service to come out and support what some veteran has done for you. If you think about it for a minute or two you should have no trouble sparing that 45 minutes once a year, well twice if you count Memorial Day in May.

OK, I’m through griping and now I’m going to tell you a little story. But I’m not going to generalize about all veterans. Yes, they’re all important but I want you to think about one.

My intention is to personalize this column in hopes that it gives the service a different look.

In 1978 the City of Rome Police Department sent me to Quantico, Va., to the National Academy. It is more commonly referred to as the FBI Academy simply because they run it. They have four 11-week sessions a year and there are 250 students in each session.

The dormitory that is used for living space has seven stories and the top five are used for the class. There are 50 students assigned to each floor, along with an FBI counselor. At least that’s the way it was in 1978.

I ARRIVED in early April and checked into my room. The second day I was there someone knocked on my door. I had met my roommate and a few other guys and expected it to be one of them. When I opened the door there was a man standing there who I had not met. He was somewhere close to my age or maybe a year or two older.

He asked if I was Mike Ragland. When I told him I was he asked to come in. He said his name was Horn and that he was an FBI agent from Denver. He was one of the counselors and wanted to talk to me a minute if I had time. Of course I had time, I had nothing but time. It was a Sunday and classes hadn’t started yet.

He came into the room and pulled up a chair. He just looked at me for a long minute and said, “I was looking over the students of this class and saw that you were from Rome, Georgia. Is that correct?” I answered in the affirmative, and he continued. “I’ve looked Rome up several times and know that it’s a pretty good sized city, but I still wanted to ask you a question.”

I don’t think I answered, I believe I just nodded my head for him to continue. He said, “By chance did you know Tommy Segars?”

This fellow was acting awful sad. He really looked like he was hurting inside and was dealing with something that I didn’t understand. I replied that I didn’t know Tommy, but I knew about him.

He perked up some and asked me how I knew about him. I told him the local paper had done a big story on him and his mother, and that I was one of the officers that lead his funeral.

AS THE TEARS began to flow freely he asked me if it was a big funeral. Yes, I said, it was a very large funeral.

Agent Horn then asked me if I had been in the military and was I in Vietnam. I told him that I had been in the Navy during the war, but was not sent to ’Nam.

It seems that Agent Horn was a Marine officer in ’Nam, and Tommy was in his squad. In fact, Tommy was there when he arrived and was his radio operator. Tommy was a good Marine and the agent had depended heavily on him.

Eventually Tommy finished out his allotted time in country and was scheduled to be recycled any day.

While Tommy was waiting to leave, Horn had to take his squad on an operation that was only a one-day thing. “Didn’t think there was going to be much to it,” he said. But his new radio operator was sick. And Tommy volunteered to go. He felt like he would be letting his buddies down if they went to the field with a sick radio operator. Horn said, “I told him over and over that he didn’t have to go. But he said it’ll be all right, and I let him.” When the chopper touched down he said they hadn’t taken 10 steps before coming under fire. Tommy was killed immediately. Horn was standing right next to him.

It was obvious to me that it was still beating him up. I was told that some years later he died himself. But I don’t know if that’s true or not. I hope it isn’t.

The story has another part. Tommy’s mother was born and raised behind the Iron Curtain and had escaped after World War II and had made her way to this country.

IN THE ROME News-Tribune story, she said was proud that her son had stood up to the communists. She had lived under that system and was glad to be free and stated that she wanted everyone to be so. Agent Horn was also familiar with her past.

Tommy Quinn Segars Jr. graduated from Coosa High School in 1965, and joined the Marine Corps that same year. He was in the last year of his enlistment and had completed his required tour in ’Nam. Still he gave all he had, his last full measure of devotion to his country.

He didn’t live to come back and to land a good civilian job, raise a family and take them to the beach.

He would be 64, now and should be retired and playing with grandchildren, but he isn’t.

He was killed in combat in early 1969. He left this world at age 22. He never had any of those things, but by his service he made sure we did.

Please try and be at Myrtle Hill on the 11th of November at 11 a.m. and just stand in reverence if nothing else.

It’s really a good service, and I’m sure you’ll find it meaningful.

And if you can’t possibly make it, don’t tell me, tell Tommy Segars.

Mike Ragland of Cave Spring is a retired Rome Police Department major. Readers can contact him at mrag@bellsouth.net or visit his website at www.MIKE RAGLAND.com.

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Segars, Tommy Quinn, Jr., Cpl