Retired Maj. Gen. Randall V. Simmons Jr. touched on principles as time-honored as loyalty to the Constitution rather than a president or party and events as current — but not new — as deployment of troops to the border in his keynote remarks Tuesday for the annual Veterans Day program at the Emma Kelly Theater.
As always, American Legion Dexter Allen Post 90 hosted the program, with active participation also by VFW Post 10825 and support from the Averitt Center for the Arts, which operates the arts theater in downtown Statesboro, and several other sponsors. The theater wasn't full, but around 100 people turned out by 11 a.m. on a cold day after an unusually early freezing night. Simmons, who once commanded the entire Georgia Army National Guard, lives in Statesboro with his wife Yetive and their two children, ages 17 and 14.
He retired from the U.S. Army and the National Guard in March 2023, concluding a 34-year miliary career he began in 1989 as a field artillery forward observer before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1992 after completing Georgia Military Institute Officer Candidate School.
Simmons attained a bachelor's degree at Georgia Southern University in 1995 and later a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College and completed advanced national security programs at Harvard, Syracuse and the National Defense University.
Before his retirement at the two-star rank of major general, he had served in command or executive officer roles in three combat deployments. He said he rarely wears his uniform now, but put it back on for Veterans Day and was glad that it still fits.
"You know, when you hang up the uniform, one of the things you realize is that Veterans Day isn't really about the uniform at all — it's about the people who wore it, the families who supported them, and the communities like this one that never stopped standing behind them," Simmons said early in his remarks.
'To support and defend'
About halfway through, he noted that the various military service branches — the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and Coast Guard — wear different uniforms and each have unique traditions and missions. But the members of every service raise their right hands and take what is at heart the same oath.
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. …," Simmons quoted. "That is the core of the oath we take."
Service members, he noted, are administered variations of the oath when enlisting, extending their service, being promoted, or being commissioned as officers.
"But the meaning is constant and unmistakable," Simmons said. "That oath isn't to a president or prime minister or a party, not to a king, queen or tyrant, not to a group or a tribe — it's to an idea, powerful ideas written into our Constitution — ideas that toppled fascism and Nazi Germany during World War II, that defeated communism and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and continue to deter aggression and inspire freedom around the world today."
Making some specific references to the Georgia Army National Guard, of which he was commander, headquartered at Marietta, from 2016 to 2020, Simmons noted that 35,000 of the Guard's members have been deployed since Sept. 11, 2001, serving in all six geographic commands. In 2024, he said, more than 2,100 Georgia "Guardsmen deployed overseas, and this year, over 900 are currently mobilized — including many serving right here at home."
Border security
Connecting past and present, he also told the story of Sgt. Robert Gober Burton, a National Guardsman from Monroe, Georgia, who served in World War I.
Unsure what to do with his life at age 17, Burton had signed up in June 1916, in the tradition of "citizen solders" who join local militia units and now the National Guard for "a sense of purpose and connection to events and community history," Simmons narrated.
"As often happens, fate intervened," he said. "In response to growing unrest along the Mexican-U.S. border, President Woodrow Wilson called 150,000 National Guardsmen to active duty and dispatched them to augment border security.
"Now, you all thought that was something new," Simmons added. "And can you imagine? People are hyperventilating right now because we have about 12,000 people helping with border security, in 1916 — 150,000, just remember that."
Tale of 2 letters
So young "Gober" Burton had arrived in Texas as one of 3,000 soldiers in the Georgia Brigade stationed at Camp Cotton near El Paso. Thinking of the "glory of soldiering" in terms of parades and glittering medals, he wrote home to his mother on Jan. 14, 1917:
"I think that it will be just fine for us to get medals when we get home. Then we can have reunions like the old Confederate soldiers," Simmons quoted, while reading a longer portion of Burton's letter.
The border deployment ended in March 1917, and Burton and his unit got to parade down Cherry Street in Macon and receive medals presented by the city. But on April 2, President Wilson asked for a declaration of war against Germany, which Congress approved April 6.
Simmons told of Burton's October 1917 redeployment in Europe, which began with a 72-hour train ride with 48 hours' rations and little sleep. Then, his unit marched nearly 110 miles in snow to a training camp in France.
The battalion first entered the trenches in March 1918. Burton was wounded in the Croix de Rogue Farm offensive but recovered and rejoined his battalion in time for the St. Mihel and Meuse Argonne offensives.
Of its original 569 soldiers, the battalion suffered 443 casualties, including 57 killed in action, mortally wounded or missing. Burton survived and returned home to Monroe.
In 1919, the seasoned soldier, age 20, wrote a different letter: "Dearest Mother, Don't tell anyone when I am coming home or anything. I am going to disconnect the phone when I get home. I will tell you about all the things people have been doing for us when I get home. I am as well as can be, Gober."
Simmons suggested that the contrast in the letters, with the latter one showing "a quiet humility," "says a lot about the transformative effect combat has on our service men and women."
'Never forget'
Bobby Godwin, commander of American Legion Dexter Allen Post 90, gave the welcome at the start of Tuesday's program.
"Americans never forget," Godwin said. "This day is a special day to honor the service and sacrifice of all who have worn the uniform and taken the oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and we also serve our communities."
Lt. Col. Nick Spletstoser, chaplain for the South Carolina Army National Guard and senior chaplain for Ogeechee Area Hospice, served as master of ceremonies. Mike Skarhus, currently chaplain for both America Legion Post 90 and VFW Post 10825, gave the opening and closing prayers.
POW/MIA Table
A newly organized and poignant part of this year's service was the setting of the POW/MIA Table, carried out by Statesboro Civil Air Patrol members — Capt. JoEllen Flannery, 2nd Lt. Felicia Schmucker and Cadet Sr. Airman Brooklyn Cornelius — while Spletstoser explained the symbolism of each element.
The round table, the white tablecloth, the single red rose, the yellow ribbon, the slice of lemon, the pinch of salt, the lighted candle, the bound text or "book of faith," the inverted glasses and the empty chair were solemnly and carefully set out on stage. Then, a minute of silence was observed for all American prisoners of war unaccounted for and individuals missing in action from all of the wars and conflicts.
Other reflections
Post 90 Senior Vice Commander John Daube, Legionnaire Ken Johnson and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10825 Commander Larry Shatteen each shared a reading or reflection related to Veterans Day. Post 90 Adjutant Gary Martin again gave a call for participation in the American Legion's "Be the One" mission to prevent suicide among veterans.
Two members of the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard, Cpl. Aneshia Best and Capt. Kenny Thompson, performed the ceremonial posting and retiring of the "colors," or United States and Georgia flags, at beginning and end of the service.
The Archibald Bulloch Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution supplied free coffee and doughnuts at the Averitt Center lobby before the program began.
As noted at the end, American Legion Post 90 dedicated this year's Veterans Day observance in memory of Bob Marsh, who passed away Oct. 14 at age 78. A member of the post and a Navy veteran, Marsh had taken part in past Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs. He was also a leading Statesboro Kiwanis Club member and a volunteer with Ogeechee Area Hospice.