Mr. Cliff’s Service

Story By Natalie Salvatore Photos By Hannah Lester and Contributed By Carlton Clifton

One of Opelika’s native veterans, Carlton Clifton, better known as “Mr. Cliff,” served in the U.S. Army starting in the 1970s. Reflecting on his military service, he explained that his time as a soldier developed him as a person and gave him the chance to travel to places he otherwise never would have seen.

Clifton’s story began shortly after graduating from Opelika High School in 1971. He was first drafted into the military in 1972, and again in 1973, in Montgomery, Alabama. However, he was told to return home both times because he retained a “B” average in school. He had asked his friends to go with him the second time he was drafted but did not do so his third time.

In January 1975, the veteran volunteered to serve on his own. Since his start of military service, Clifton has had many assignments across the world.

He first served as an armored personnel carrier (APC) driver in the 197th Infantry Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia. Next, the veteran served in Korea at a time when the sectional tensions between North and South Korea peaked. While defending along the demilitarized zone, or the DMZ, which separates North and South Korea, North Korean soldiers killed a few South Korean soldiers for cutting down a tree. But, the South Korean soldiers did this to gain better views across the line and had remained on their side. Nevertheless, he described that as he and other soldiers were patrolling from their fighting position, a foxhole, North Korean soldiers then came over to the south side.

To make matters worse, this day consisted of rain and belowzero temperatures. Their differing rules of engagement for each side meant that he and his side could only fire if the other side fired first. As the northern soldiers drew closer, the soldiers tried to secure permission to fire first, without prevailing.

“They got very close, so we could only pray that if they fired first, they missed,” Clifton said. “They heard a noise and turned back before they discovered that we were only about 25 meters in front of them.”

The soldiers remained hidden in their foxholes for almost two hours longer than their guard shift required, resulting in cold weather injuries for all, including frostbite.

Clifton’s service didn’t stop with Korea. He went on to additional assignments, the first being in Fort Stewart, Georgia. As the base had just reopened, Clifton said their living facilities and equipment were poor. However, new barracks and equipment eventually replaced what he started with. Before moving on to his next assignment in Montgomery, Clifton also volunteered and was chosen to serve on recruiting duty, first in Newark, New Jersey.

“There, I was awarded the Gold Army Recruiter Ring and inducted into the Army Recruiting Hall of Fame,” Clifton said. “My job as a recruiter was a limited production station commander.”

Clifton spent the next decade of service as station commander and guidance counselor at Montgomery Recruiting Battalion. Then, he moved out of state again to serve as a platoon sergeant and commander in a Bradley infantry company in Germany. While there, in the two companies they sent to Operation Desert Storm, his company was scheduled to alleviate the other when their tour finished.

The veteran rose in the military ranks. As first sergeant, he was responsible for preparing and training his soldiers for war.

“I took my soldiers to Bradley Gunnery firing range, and we set new records on Table 8 and Table 12,” Clifton said. “Once we were trained, packed and ready to go, the war ended.”

Clifton’s military service came full circle when he was reassigned to his home base for his last assignment. Back at Fort Benning, now with almost 20 years of courageous experiences under his belt, he worked as the plans and policy officer.

“I was responsible for equipping the 29th Regiment with stateof-the-art training equipment to prepare the soldiers for the 21st century,” he said. “I retired from the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, in September 1995.”

Clifton’s time serving opened the door to additional areas of both educational and career development. He has earned multiple degrees in his lifetime thus far, consisting of a diploma in radio and television repair from Opelika Technical College, a bachelor’s degree in electronic technology from Pacific College

and a degree in computer science from Southern Union State Community College.

Clifton also opened a business while on active duty after requesting permission in 1981 from his battalion commander. He successfully opened the Zanzabar restaurant and lounge, which he ran for three years. Next, Clifton opened the Pegasus Country Club and managed that for six years. His biggest business endeavor yet was his founding of the Whispering Oaks restaurant in 1990, with locations in Auburn, Opelika, Phenix City and Tuskegee. He operated his restaurant for 25 years before

retiring in 2015.

“While on active duty, I was also able to pursue my favorite hobby, which is to restore antique cars,” he said. “I purchased my first antique car, a 1930 Willys-Knight, in 1982. Since then, I have restored several antique cars, most of which I still own.”

Clifton tirelessly and fearlessly gave back to both his country and to the surrounding Auburn-Opelika communities, which is shown through his countless acts of service and multiple business ventures.

“I am a more rounded person today because of it,” he said. “I was able to teach life-changing techniques to my soldiers that not only helped them, but also helped me.”