page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast
page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast
feature storyThe Birth of a MonumentRICHARD STONE14 Mature Living Winter EditionBy Mary Ann EllisRichard Stone, President of the Jeff Davis County Veterans’Association, and Phil Merritt, Design Chairperson for Monuments,have a strong friendship that has lasted for better thanthirty years. In various ways it has served not only the two ofthem but many other veterans in the county as well. Both menare Vietnam veterans. Few people who’ve fought in wars comeback able to casually talk about their experiences. Memoriesare too painful, too fresh, no matter how many years have slippedpast the calendar’sface. Richard and Philhave found solace intheir own friendshipand in the company ofabout twenty-five otherveterans in Jeff DavisCounty who meet on aregular basis, not to tellwar stories, but to enjoyeach other’s company.What they havecreated for themselvesis a brotherhood thatkeeps their war memoriesat bay.Their story startedlong ago. Phil and Richardwere abouttwenty miles apart inVietnam, but at thattime they didn’t know each other at all, had never even met.Born in Hazlehurst, Phil Merritt has remained there all his life,except for his stint in the army. Richard Stone moved toHazlehurst in 1968 and worked for Amoco. Their separate storiesmerged when they became friends back in the ’70s. Theygot to know each other well when they attended college togetheron the GI Bill.Richard Stone spent four years in the marines and then workedfor Amoco for thirty years before retiring at age fifty-three. Heserved as the plant manager in Nashville, Georgia, from 1988-94, and then he and his family spent ’95-’96 in Europe, wherehe worked as the manufacturing manager at plants in Englandand Scotland.“There were five or six castles within twenty miles of ourhouse,” Richard said. “These castles were just big fortresses.We got to see several of them.”They toured the castles, rode the train often, and did a lot ofsight seeing, but he actually drove a car in London only once.That was enough for Richard. After that harrowing experience,he opted to ride the train.Richard and Doris Stone attend Southside Baptist Church.They have 3 children. Their son Richard and his wife Julie havethree children (Logan Stone, Gunner and Leanna Jackson),Michael and his wife Mandy have two (Abby Walker and KaitlynStone), and daughter Tonya has two (Garret and Allee Kersey).In addition to friendship, Phil passed on his passion for classiccars to Richard. He owns quite a few of them, including two’57 Chevys (one convertible and one hardtop), two ’55 Chevys,a ’58 Impala, and a ’67 Camaro convertible, which he is currentlyworking on.Phil Merritt, too, has a collection of antique cars. Phil hasworked for Standard Discount for forty-two years, where currentlyhe is a supervisor for Globe Financial Services. He andhis wife, Brenda Underwood Merritt, were high school sweethearts,and have three children. Carla is married to ChuckColeman and theyhave three children:Connor,Alex, and Ava.Maria is married toShane Rea andthey have two children,Dylan andRylie Brooke.Lindsey, the thirddaughter is marriedto Max Bookhardt,and Emma Kate istheir daughter.The Merritts attendFirst United MethodistChurch.PHIL MERRITPhil is very much enamored with antiques in general in additionto cars. He loves the ’50s and ’60s eras. Among his treasuresis an old gas pump and the first and only tractor that hisGrandma Mattie Shumans ever bought-a 1956 John Deere 420.He has restored the tractor and uses it to entertain the grandchildren.He and his father own a Model A Roadster, and Phil ownsthe first car he ever bought, a yellow 1966 fastback Mustang.Even though he gave much time to his hobby in the past fewyears, he also spent some time writing a book about his warexperiences: A Soldier’s Blues paints a vivid picture of a harrowingslice of his life.The further merging of Richard’s and Phil’s stories and
perhaps their greatest accomplishmentactually started in2005. The Jeff Davis ElementarySchool called and wantedsome veterans to attend a programtheir students were presentingfor Veterans’ Day thatyear. The men were able toround up ten or twelve to attend.When they arrived, theyheard the “Star Spangled Banner”playing. Along the wallsstudents were lined up withflags and posters, saying,“Thank you, veterans, forkeeping us free.”“It put me in shock,” saidRichard. “I had tears in myeyes, and a lot of other mendid, too. It’s rare to hear anyonesay thanks for serving.”Yet here was a wholeschool doing exactly that.They ate snacks and socializedwith the students and teachers,and as they ate, Richard wasthinking. It’s time now. Weneed to get a veterans’ memorialsoon. All the veterans inattendance were amazed by thepatriotism of the school andwhen the school called againthe next year, about sixty veteransshowed up. The numberscontinued to grow. Finally inthe fall of 2007, Phil and Richardagreed that the time wasright. They called a meetingfor January 2008. Twenty-fiveenthusiastic veterans showedup for that first meeting. Theirgoal was to recognize thirtytwoJeff Davis veterans killedin action (KIA) in the variouswars.An amazing outpouring ofSTONE AND MERRITT HOLD AN AMERICAN FLAG INFRONT OF JEFF DAVIS MONUMENT.support came from the community.The group did not solicitany funds from the state,local, or federal agencies. Philand Richard wanted to dosomething different, some-Mature Living Winter Edition 15
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perhaps <strong>the</strong>ir greatest accomplishmentactually started <strong>in</strong>2005. The Jeff Davis ElementarySchool called and wantedsome veterans to attend a program<strong>the</strong>ir students were present<strong>in</strong>gfor Veterans’ Day thatyear. The men were able toround up ten or twelve to attend.When <strong>the</strong>y arrived, <strong>the</strong>yheard <strong>the</strong> “Star Spangled Banner”play<strong>in</strong>g. Along <strong>the</strong> wallsstudents were l<strong>in</strong>ed up withflags and posters, say<strong>in</strong>g,“Thank you, veterans, forkeep<strong>in</strong>g us free.”“It put me <strong>in</strong> shock,” saidRichard. “I had tears <strong>in</strong> myeyes, and a lot of o<strong>the</strong>r mendid, too. It’s rare to hear anyonesay thanks for serv<strong>in</strong>g.”Yet here was a wholeschool do<strong>in</strong>g exactly that.They ate snacks and socializedwith <strong>the</strong> students and teachers,and as <strong>the</strong>y ate, Richard wasth<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g. It’s time now. Weneed to get a veterans’ memorialsoon. All <strong>the</strong> veterans <strong>in</strong>attendance were amazed by <strong>the</strong>patriotism of <strong>the</strong> school andwhen <strong>the</strong> school called aga<strong>in</strong><strong>the</strong> next year, about sixty veteransshowed up. The numberscont<strong>in</strong>ued to grow. F<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong><strong>the</strong> fall of 2007, Phil and Richardagreed that <strong>the</strong> time wasright. They called a meet<strong>in</strong>gfor January 2008. Twenty-fiveenthusiastic veterans showedup for that first meet<strong>in</strong>g. Theirgoal was to recognize thirtytwoJeff Davis veterans killed<strong>in</strong> action (KIA) <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> variouswars.An amaz<strong>in</strong>g outpour<strong>in</strong>g ofSTONE AND MERRITT HOLD AN AMERICAN FLAG INFRONT OF JEFF DAVIS MONUMENT.support came from <strong>the</strong> community.The group did not solicitany funds from <strong>the</strong> state,local, or federal agencies. Philand Richard wanted to dosometh<strong>in</strong>g different, some-<strong>Mature</strong> <strong>Liv<strong>in</strong>g</strong> W<strong>in</strong>ter Edition 15
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