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Lucama remembers soldiers By Stephanie Creech | Daily Times Senior Writer LUCAMA -- The black and white prisoner of war/Missing in Action flag flew outside Lucama Elementary School Friday in remembrance of Jimmy Lee Watson, a member of Lucama's Class of 1964 missing since the Vietnam War. Watson's former classmates and current fifth-graders gathered at the school's flagpole for a brief ceremony honoring Watson. The ceremony included Beddingfield High School's Army JROTC cadets presenting and raising the flags and remarks by James Boyette of Tallahassee, Fla., president of the Class of 1964, and John Joyner, the school's current principal. Joyner led the students in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and in shouting out a big "hurrah" for Watson. The event was held Friday in recognition of National POW/MIA Day. This is the second event the Class of 1964 has held this year to honor Watson. Boyette said they want to do everything they can to keep Watson's memory alive. On March 13, 1968, Watson, a chief warrant officer in the U.S. Army, was piloting a Huey helicopter when it was struck by enemy fire and forced to make an emergency landing in Thua Thien Province in South Vietnam. Five of the 10 soldiers on board returned to camp safely. The bodies of two of the five missing soldiers were recovered. Watson and two other soldiers are still missing. Chris Raper of Elm City, a former classmate of Watson, said Friday's ceremony was another step the class is taking to help keep his memory alive. Raper said people hear little today about the POW/MIA issue with the exception of when it's mentioned in connection with presidential candidate John McCain. Raper's wife, Dianne, spent around 30 minutes Wednesday morning talking with the fifth-graders about Watson and the importance of remembering missing soldiers. Dianne Raper quizzed the students Friday as they waited for the ceremony to begin to see what they remembered about her talk. Anna Long, 10, rattled off key parts of the story about Watson. "If he was alive, he would be 62 years old," she said. Joyner described remembering Watson as a living history lesson for the students because Watson sat in the same auditorium they use and played in the same gymnasium they do. For Joyner, this was an opportunity for students to see that Lucama is indeed involved in what's happening in the rest of the world. creech@wilsontimes.com | 265-7822
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