WITH INDUCTION OF INAUGURAL CLASS

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 our nation – 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.

Each honoree is represented by a standard dog tag. For those who have served, the dog tag is a common denominator. Regardless of whether you served as a private or four-star general, you wear the same dog tags. The use of dog tags in the Hall of Fame highlights the fact that regardless of how they earned their spots in this place of honor, each of them is a hero in the University’s eyes.

“The Austin Peay State University Governors 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 inaugural class and their families. During that dinner, the 13 nominees were officially inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those individuals are:

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 ACE 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 1988 as an 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 commanding the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell and culminated with his promotion to brigadier general.

Retired Lt. Col. Dewey Browder

Dr. 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 served as a USAREUR military-political adviser and then as the Adjutant General for the U.S. Army Europe’s forces in Italy, Greece and Turkey. He earned the Legion of Merit twice during this service in Europe.

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 1974 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.

Col. David Hackworth*

Hackworth, a 1964 Austin Peay State College graduate with a B.S. Degree in History, was a highly decorated veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He was a man of action and an accomplished author. He earned well over 100 awards. Among them were the Distinguished Service Cross, 10 Silver Stars, four Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, eight Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, 34 Air Medals and four Army Commendation Medals. Sixty-five of his individual awards were for valor. The Philadelphia Inquirer called him “the best military leader this country has had since Patton.” Prior to his passing, Hackworth was America’s most decorated living soldier. After retiring from the army, he was a prominent military correspondent for Newsweek and authored or co-authored six books.

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.

Sgt. Osman Samuel Uffelman*

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 as an officer during World War I. During World War II, he was granted a leave-ofabsence 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.

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. He later received 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 to command both a combat support Military Police Battalion (Korea) and Brigade, (Fort Hood, Texas) responsible for training and law enforcement to a military community of over 120,000 military, and civilian personnel. During her 26-year career, she served in positions impacting national security at the Pentagon, and is a veteran of Deserts Shield and Storm. Her awards include the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit for exemplary service.

Retired Capt. John McKay Jr.

McKay, a 1959 Austin Peay graduate and former Governors’ football team captain was selected 1st team All-Conference in 1957 and 1958. In 1958 he was selected as Honorable Mention Little All American. He entered the Navy Officers Candidate School in 1961 and spent 30 years serving in amphibious warfare ships, mine sweepers, cruisers, destroyers and helicopter carriers. During his career he served as captain of the USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) and the USS Shreveport (LPD12), and in 1989, he took command of Amphibious Squadron Two and deployed with five ships and 2,000 Marines to the Mediterranean where he assumed Command of Task Force 61. He was awarded three Legion of Merit Medals, one Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Three Meritorious Service Medals, and one Navy Commendation Medal. In 2015 he was inducted into the Surface Navy Hall of Fame, which includes naval heroes such as Admiral Arleigh Burke, Admiral of the Navy George Dewy, Admiral David Farragut, and Captain John Paul Jones.

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 while taking fire from an enemy sniper.

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 the 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.

“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 space with it now housing the APSU Governors Military Hall of Fame,” Lord said.

The special ceremony was sponsored by Mr. Jack Turner, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Emeritus, and his wife Margie. The Turners have spent their lives making the Clarksville community a better place for its citizens and especially those and their families who have served our country.

Jack Turner’s connection to the military began in the period between the Korean War and the Vietnam War, when he was an artillery officer. He later served seven years in the U.S. Army Reserve. As Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, he serves as a liaison between the Secretary of the Army’s office, the community, and the military. Since 2012, Jack has sponsored the CSM Darol Walker Award Ceremony and Breakfast here at the university to annually recognize one outstanding cadet in Austin Peay’s ROTC program.

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.

To view full bios of the inductees, visit www.alumni. apsu.edu/halloffamehonorees and click on the honoree’s photo.

The University accepts nominations year round. For consideration for the 2023 APSU Governors Military Hall of Fame, nominations must be submitted by May 6, 2023. To view requirements and submit a nomination, visit www.alumni.apsu.edu/militaryhalloffame

(*Inducted posthumously)