Jim DeMint
U.S. Senator, South Carolina
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| An Interview With a Soldier |
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| Posted by Kelly Long |
06/10/2008 - 04:26:34 PM |
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I read an article last month in the Cherokee Chronicle about a man in Gaffney named Willie Crosby. Folks from the area might recognize that name. He has served as a member of the Cherokee County District One School Board for the last 12 years and taught Junior ROTC for 17 years. But service has been a life-long endeavor for Crosby. Prior to his teaching career, he served 26 years in the United States Army.
What is extraordinary about this soft-spoken individual is the commitment to the Armed Services that runs throughout his family. In the last three Crosby generations, 11 men have served in uniform. Crosby and each of his five brothers served, and he passed that commitment on to his son, Stanley. Willie Crosby’s service included tours in the Arctic Circle, Germany, Korea and two tours in Vietnam.
I spoke to Crosby about his service in Vietnam. He was a Company First Sergeant in the Fourth Infantry Division. During his two tours in a war zone, Crosby and the 105 soldiers in his charge conducted search and clear missions and search and destroy missions. He described his time in Pleico, Dakto and Kontum, South Vietnam as laborious, tedious and life-changing work.
“We would wake the soldiers up at five o’clock in the morning usually and send out a small sweep (a five member team) to check the parameter. Once the parameters were clear and the day had begun, we would send out three platoons to find and engage the enemy. Most of the contact was with NVA (North Vietnamese Army). Unlike the Viet Cong, the NVA was a lot like us: young, less experienced and fighting in a foreign terrain.”
I asked Crosby what sustained him on the front lines of one of the nation’s harshest military conflicts. “Your job,” he replied. “That’s what sustains you – getting your job done. You want to get your guys back home safe and healthy. You don’t focus on yourself as much; you focus on your mission.”
Crosby told me that despite his training at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, the best preparation he received before heading off to Vietnam was the on-the-job training he received in Korea. “The terrain is very similar there. Lots of vegetation and a tough climate. At different times of the year, Korea is the hottest and the coldest place I have ever been.”
Crosby said that he was not prepared for the rain in Vietnam. “You could not stay dry. It rained solid four months out of the year."
At one point earlier in the discussion, I had asked him how he dealt with challenges on the school board back in Gaffney. “Very simple,” he said. “Do your job and don’t worry about what you cannot control.” Always looking for connections when I interview folks, I asked Crosby if that is the same philosophy that worked much earlier in Vietnam. “Not at all,” he replied with a smile. “In combat, you worry about absolutely everything.”
Willie Crosby described his last tour as the blessing of the bunch. He was stationed in Charlotte, North Carolina as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the 108th Army Reserve, where he trained U.S. Army Reserve soldiers for four years. After many difficult tours all over the world, he ended his military service just a short drive up I-85.
Today, aside from his work with the school board, he is active in Concord Baptist Church where he has served as Morning Announcer and Church Historian. Years later, Crosby’s life is still about service. “My wife says I just don’t know how to say no,” he tells me. “They made me the Male Chorus Director, even though I don’t know the first note.”
Mr. Crosby talked with me in his Gaffney living room, surrounded by pictures of his four sons and his wife, Annie.
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Regional Director
Kelly Long |
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1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
Map It!
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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About the Regional Director
Kelly Long has served at various capacities for Jim DeMint for nearly 10 years in his South Carolina offices. He grew up in Spartanburg and graduated from the USC Upstate. Kelly currently resides in Lexington with his wife and two children. |
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Cherokee
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Lancaster
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Chester
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Lee
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Chesterfield
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Marlboro
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Darlington
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Newberry
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Fairfield
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Sumter
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Kershaw
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York
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| Office Locations |
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Charleston
112 Custom House
200 East Bay St
Charleston, SC 29401
P: 843-727-4525
F: 843-722-4923
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Columbia
1901 Main St
Suite 1475
Columbia, SC 29201
P: 803-771-6112
F: 803-771-6455
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Greenville
105 North Spring St
Suite 109
Greenville, SC 29601
P: 864-233-5366
F: 864-271-8901
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Washington, D.C.
340 Russell
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
P: 202-224-6121
F: 202-228-5143
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