Volusia honors 6 hall of fame veterans

Sheldon Gardner, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·4 min read

John Brinkley devoted some of the last years of his long life to veterans, and now his legacy is a permanent part of Volusia County’s history.

County officials recently honored Brinkley, a former Ormond Beach resident who died in August at 93, and five other veterans for their induction into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame since it launched in 2013. The county issued proclamations recognizing Dec. 6 as a day dedicated to each man ― Brinkley, Dr. Frank Farmer, Frank Hahnel, Rod Phillips, Jose Rosa and David Rose ― and added their photos to a newly created Veterans Wall of Fame on the first floor of the county administration building at 123 W. Indiana Ave. in DeLand.

District 2 Councilwoman Billie Wheeler led the county's effort to honor the men.

"Thank you for your service during and after your military deployments," she said during the event. "All of you are patriots, valiant soldiers and compassionate human beings. Your community and your nation are better because of your service and sacrifice."

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This week, Volusia County honored six veterans for their service in the military and beyond. From top left to bottom right: John Brinkley, Frank Farmer, Frank Hahnel, Rod Phillips, Jose Rosa and David Rose.
This week, Volusia County honored six veterans for their service in the military and beyond. From top left to bottom right: John Brinkley, Frank Farmer, Frank Hahnel, Rod Phillips, Jose Rosa and David Rose.

Brinkley, a World War II and Korean War veteran, served in the U.S. Marines and the Air Force. He founded the Veterans Museum and Education Center, which is now in Daytona Beach.

Carolyn Carroll, Brinkley’s daughter, and Meredith Hill, his granddaughter, received the county’s proclamation honoring him.

Carroll said she was happy to see her father’s volunteer work and military service remembered.

"He really made the last, you know, 10 years of his life count,” Carroll said. “I mean he started the veterans museum when he was in his mid 80s. It was his dream to educate the public and help people to remember … all the service and sacrifice that our veterans have made."

Carolyn Carroll, daughter of the late John Brinkley, and Meredith Hill, Brinkley's granddaughter, receive a recognition on his behalf alongside other honorees during a ceremony celebrating local veterans who are now part of the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame.
Carolyn Carroll, daughter of the late John Brinkley, and Meredith Hill, Brinkley's granddaughter, receive a recognition on his behalf alongside other honorees during a ceremony celebrating local veterans who are now part of the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame.

Hill added, "I knew him as … an amazing grandfather and looked up to him a lot, so it means a lot to see the other people respecting him just as I did, too."

A ‘significant contribution’ in and out of military service

The Florida Veterans Hall of Fame honors military veterans for "significant contributions to the state of Florida" through their military service or other actions.

More than 130 Florida veterans are part of the hall of fame, according to the county.

The county shared background about each veteran and gave everyone receiving recognition an opportunity to speak.

Hahnel, a DeBary resident and former U.S. Marine, survived the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War.

Phillips, of New Smyrna Beach, is a Vietnam veteran who was wounded in combat. He leads the Vietnam Veterans Daytona Beach Chapter and is an inspector with the Florida Department of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Rosa, of Daytona Beach Shores, was a master sergeant in Vietnam and in Operation Enduring Freedom. Rosa serves on the Vietnam Veterans Daytona Beach Chapter Board of Directors and is a former commander of VFW Post 3282 in Port Orange.

Rose, a former Daytona Beach resident, was an Army combat medic in the Vietnam War. After the war, he became a surgical technician. He lives in Tennessee.

Farmer, of Ormond Beach, was a "military advisor in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War, a battalion surgeon for the Florida National Guard, and commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 919 Special Operations Medical Group," according to the county's proclamation. He retired as a colonel. He served as Florida's surgeon general and secretary of health from 2011 to 2012.

Farmer said that sometimes veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, are portrayed as "pot-smoking malcontents not following orders and not being real good individuals."

"But I think if you look around here, you can see that's not a true portrait of veterans," he said, adding that he was honored to be recognized.

"We realize that we're accepting this not only for us individually, but for the vast majority of all veterans who, when they take their uniforms off, go back to their communities, do good things, (and) spend the rest of their life helping other people," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County unveils Veterans Wall of Fame