Lloyd — Lt. Col. Vance Huston marshaled an entire community to build the Jr. ROTC building on the Greenup County High School campus.
That is why the community dedicated the structure to Huston on Tuesday.
Cadets in camouflage joined dignitaries, school officials and some of those who helped with the original construction in a morning ceremony honoring Huston, whose colorful career as a helicopter pilot took him into combat and onto presidential aircraft before he settled in Greenup County.
Huston, who was the JROTC instructor at GCHS from 1979 through 1988, molded a coalition of school and community volunteers to get the building constructed, said Master Sgt. Tom Fenchel, who is in charge of the program today.
The dedication was a first in the annals of the district. “It is unprecedented in Greenup County to honor a single person with the naming of a structure,” Fenchel said. Huston deserves the distinction because of his work on the building, he said. “The colonel built this building with his own hands.”
Huston, however, said others had stepped forward when he asked for help. Charlie Banks, the principal at the time, had given the OK on a piece of ground; a member of the Kentucky National Guard 201st Engineer Battalion who was an architect drew up plans for free; members of the 201st dredged creek gravel for foundation work. Other local volunteers put in lighting, plumbing, concrete and the like.
“The thing that is so incredible about this building,” Huston said, “is that it was a community project.”
“I’m swept off my feet,” he said after the ceremony. “What struck me was seeing the cadets at attention, the impact this program has on young people. That’s what it’s all about.”
After school board members Jeff Hurn and Kelly Adkins unveiled the dedication sign, Huston asked that a second plaque be installed commemorating his late colleague, Master Sgt. Ernie Gouge, his assistant instructor during his years at the high school. “He was (the cadets’) daddy, their brother, their uncle, their confidant. They loved him,” Huston said.
Huston came to Greenup after a 23-year career on active duty with the Marines. He flew 160 combat missions in Vietnam and then was among the elite group of pilots to fly Marine 1, the chopper assigned to the president of the United States.
He flew presidents Kennedy and Johnson and was at Love Field in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot.
Originally from California, Huston found Greenup when he and his wife were looking for a quieter place to settle down after he retired from the Marines.
A rural school like GCHS brings together a cross-section of children and the JROTC program brings them an opportunity to learn duty and responsibility, he said. “It can fill a need in their lives.”
Command Sgt. Major Paul Royster, one of several members of the 201st in attendance on Tuesday, was one of the soldiers who pitched in to dredge truckloads of gravel for the building. “Colonel Huston commanded respect,” Royster said. “He was an honorable guy. He exuded that.”
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Kevin Goldy
Discussion
Honoring a Marine
<a href="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/dailyindependent/flashpromo/slideshow/huston_show/">Click here for audio slide show: Building dedication for Lt. Col Vance Huston<b><b>
- Local News
-
-
2 recipes revealed in Sanders autobiography
Want to cook like the Colonel?
-
Vet picnic will be Saturday
Tri-State veterans are invited to a free outing on Saturday.
-
‘Building Doctors’ will make rounds in Portsmouth June 14,15
Main Street Portsmouth, TSHD Architects and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society will sponsor a Building Doctor Clinic for old-building owners in the Portsmouth area June 14 and 15.
-
3 arrested after meth lab found
The Boyd County Sheriff’s Department arrested three after discovering a meth lab at a home in Rush on Saturday.
-
Going with the flow
The popularity of water trails is growing in eastern Kentucky as more and more communities embrace adventure tourism as a way to paddle their economies forward.
-
State artists will shine at MSU show
Jennifer Reis wants Kentucky artists to have a chance to win prizes chosen especially for them.
-
Central Park festivities: Musical salute honors veterans
Many, including city officials, gathered Monday to enjoy music and festivities during the Memorial Day Celebration in Ashland’s Central Park on Monday afternoon.
-
An event fit for an American
Hundreds decked out in red, white and blue lined the streets as marching bands, local officials and floats galore made their way through the streets of Ironton Monday morning during the 144th annual Memorial Day Parade.
-
3 arrested for running meth lab
The Boyd County Sheriff's Department arrested three people after discovering a meth lab at a home in Rush.
-
Crowd deals with sizzling weather in paying respects
Although the weather called for scorching heat, many showed up to pay their respects at the Memorial Day celebration in Wurtland on Sunday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
2 recipes revealed in Sanders autobiography
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
