A Veterans Day tribute to Al Keltner

[govu]

With Veterans Day coming up next Tuesday, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize one of Middle Tennessee's most reknowned military leaders. Many of you will remember a standout basketball player from Haylong High School in the early 1960's named Larry Keltner. Larry Keltner grew up in poverty in the backwoods of Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee. This was back in the days before school buses in Maury County. Larry (more affectionately known as Al by close friends and family) lived 12 miles from Haylong High School. His only means of getting to school were by his own two feet. As just a young lad, he began running to and from school each day. By his Junior year at Haylong, he could run from his home to school in exactly 60 minutes. This amazing feat earned him the nickname "Lightning Larry". Many longtime basketball fans will remember the night Lightning Larry Keltner hung 33 points on Lewis County in 1962. This was well before the advent of the three-point line which would have easily put Lightning over the 50 point mark in several games. The tough love and discipline from Legendary Basketball Coach W.C. Johnson would serve Larry well in the years that followed his High School career. Al left Haylong as a highly sought after Basketball prospect. However, with the United States deeply involved in the Vietnam War. Al heard Uncle Sam calling and he answered the call by volunteering for the U.S. Navy. The Navy sent Al to shores of Southeast Asia to stop the spread of Communism. Before his 19th Birthday, Al had already sailed around the world and been involved in some of America's most reknowned battles at sea including the Cuban Missile Crises, the Bay of Pigs, the Gulf of Tonkin, the Mekong Delta, and Haiphong Harbor. Because of Al's courage, bravery, leadership, and reputation as one of America's greatest sea battle commanders, the Navy offered Al a position as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Longing to see those green, rolling hills of Mt. Joy, Al did not accept the Navy's offer and decided to come back home to marry the love of his life Debbie. Al accepted an executive position with Union Carbide in Columbia, Tennessee. The family settled down on a small farm on Teen Cothran Hill where he and Debbie became the proud parents of three children. Their three children have all grown up now and moved on to successful careers. Al is now in the twilight of a successful 35 year career with Union Carbide. Because of the years that he spent as sea serving our country, Al has always longed to be close to the water. His plans include retiring in the near future and spending his remaining days with Debbie at their riverside retreat on the Tennessee River. In closing, I am reminded of a line from a popular song by award winning artist Billy Ray Cyrus which goes "All gave some, but Al gave all."

[Knight]

That is truely a great tribute to a man that is very well deserving of it. I hope others keep our verterans in mind in the up-coming week.