Durant encourages veterans to "Tell your story"

Christy Bailey, The News Courier, Athens, Ala.
·2 min read

Nov. 11—Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Durant was the guest speaker at a Veterans Day Program held Friday morning at the Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives. All seats were filled at the program hosted by Athens State University.

Durant is best known for his experience in 1993 during Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia as a Black-Hawk pilot. He was shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu and held as a prisoner of war by Somali militia for 11 days.

President of the Alabama Veterans Museum Board of Directors Jerry Crabtree said in his introduction of Michael Durant, "His performance during active military duty and in retirement marked him as one of aviation's best."

Durant said of Veterans Day, "This isn't about serving in combat. It's about serving. Everyone who has ever worn the uniform is a vet, and that is who we are paying tribute to here today. We need to be thanking everyone who served, whether they deployed in combat or not."

Recently, the armed services have fallen short of their recruiting goals and Durant told veterans to help out. He said, "Tell your story. The reason I went into the military is because my dad is in the National Guard, my uncles were in the National Guard — one of them was a Marine, another was an Army veteran. Then I went on a flight with an Army veteran in a helicopter, and that was the final straw."

He added, "'Tell your story' is so important because your story is going to be different than my story from Somalia, but all of us have that story about that great friend we encountered at some point in our career from half way across the country that we thought we would never have anything in common with but, suddenly, became the best friend we had for the rest of our lives. Then the leadership, the culture, the discipline, all of those things that are so amazing about serving in the United States military. We've got to inspire this next generation."

A musical tribute to each branch of the armed forces was performed by the Athens State Community Band under the direction of Tim Clinton. They were later joined by the Athens High school Choir, led by Teresa Edwards, for a special patriotic medley titled "Our America."

Guests were served lunch courtesy of ASU.