The trip of a lifetime

In the late 1960s, as a soldier in the US Army, Vaughn Barsby of South Dakota, like so many other young military men did his best to slip through the airport on his way home, unnoticed. If he was spotted, the ensuing observations from those around might include unkind words, drinks or other things being thrown in his direction, to being spat upon by passers-by. Such was the sad fate of far too many service men at the time. Barsby, unlike many of his contemporaries serving in Southeast Asia, was known as a Cold War veteran, one of those manning positions in Germany, waiting as he put it “for the East Germans or the Russians to come spilling over the border at any moment.” He served with the US military as a tank driver, gunman and commander for nearly a decade and later worked in retail sales and the hotel industry upon returning to civilian life. Last month on Thursday, October 25, Vaughn Barsby who has lived in Pulaski County for the last 33 years, along with 81 other veterans from all branches of the military, was treated to an Honor Flight. For more on this story, see the LCR.