About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2025)
» Your hometown newspaper since 1861 The Eatonton Alessenger THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025 | A3 ELLIS CONTINUED FROM » A1 however, translating them into real life lessons for approximately 130 rapt audience members, most of whom no doubt held their own first-hand memories of the Vietnam War-era, whether stationed overseas or sitting at home watching nightly coverage of the world’s first televised mili tary conflict. Ellis grew up in Commerce and said he knew the first time he sat in an airplane at age 5 that he wanted to become a pilot. He achieved his goal upon graduating from UGA in 1965 and joining the U.S. Air Force. During a slide presentation accompanying his talk, Ellis showed a late-1950s photo of him plowing a field behind a horse alongside an image of a squadron of USAF F-4 Phantoms to graphically depict his rapid progres sion over just six years. It all came crashing down, quite literally, however, in November 1967 when Ellis, serving with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, was forced to eject over North Vietnam while flying his 68th combat mission. Ellis was careful to emphasize, too, that he was not shot down but instead was the victim of a faulty bomb fuse that triggered a bomb less than two seconds after he’d released it. “The cockpit was tumbling end over end ... so me and my partner in the airplane, both pilots, we jumped out, ejected, ...just doing what I was CONTRIBUTED U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Ellis, shown here with an F-4 Phantom he flew in the mid-'60s, received the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, and Air Medal (several of them multiple times) for his service to his country. STUDENTS CONTINUED FROM » A1 with asthma were twice as likely to miss school and cited an American Lung Association report that children with asthma missed 8.3 million school days nationwide. Justin Hill, a deputy state school superinten dent, said illness is a top driver of absenteeism but that weather, family emer gencies and vacations also contribute. High school students who skip school often cite fatigue, he said. Carol Lewis, president and CEO of the group Communities in Schools, a non-profit with the mission of keeping kids in school, said many high school students are tired because they are helping to care for siblings or holding down jobs to help pay family bills. She said lack of mental health services is a barrier, noting that many chron ically absent students lost family members during the pandemic. Basic RUSSELL W. WALL | ATTORNEY AT LAW .Greensboro, 122 Part history teacher and part motivational life coach, U.S. Air Force Col. (ret.) Lee Ellis kept his audience enthralled with remarkable tales of courage, perseverance, and hope surrounding his more than five years in a Vietnamese POW facility. trained to do ... so I landed my parachute landing ... wasn’t too badly injured, just some cuts and bruises on my body,” he recalled. “There was a bomb crater there, an old bomb crater about three feet deep and I jumped in it,” Ellis continued. “Well, I was captured within two minutes, and they stripped me down, gave me my flight suit back, didn’t give me any shoes, and tied my hands behind my back and put a blind fold on me and put a rope around my neck like the lead of a dog. And then they started dragging me around.” After spending 1,955 days as a prisoner of war (POW), Ellis was finally freed in March 1973, just one month shy of the Vietnam War being needs are a problem too, she added, such as clean clothes, feminine hygiene products, food, housing and internet service. McGiboney recom mended that the state enforce a law requiring the chief superior court judge in each county to form NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE The Putnam County Board of Education has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 20.03 percent. All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at the Putnam County Board of Education Office, 158 Old Glenwood Springs Road, Eatonton, Georgia on August 11, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at Putnam County Board of Education Office, 158 Old Glenwood Springs Road, Eatonton, Georgia on August 18, 2025 at 5 p.m. This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 11.983 mills, an increase of 2.000 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 9.983 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $200,000 is approximately $140.00 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $150,000 is approximately $120.00. declared officially over. During his five-and- a-half-years stay at the ironically nicknamed “Hanoi Hilton,” Ellis said he and his fellow U.S. servicemen captives devel oped several methods to cope and remain alive despite repeated rounds of neglect, starvation, and explicit torture. "We were willing to sacrifice and to take torture to keep our ethics and to live up to the code of conduct and not give the enemy any informa tion and not make them any propaganda,” Ellis explained in his presen tation. “That was a very important message and lesson for us, and we really grew more every day. That’s what happened in the POW camp.” Ellis described his cell, a multi-agency student attendance committee. Those committees can be effective, but not all coun ties have one, he said. Wade, Gov. Brian Kemp’s House floor leader, said some schools don’t have a nurse and asked if getting one into every shared with three other POWS, as being about six-and-a-half feet by seven feet in size with no bathroom facilities other than a plastic bucket in the corner. “When you’re in a cell like that with four guys for eight months, 24 hours a day, except when you’re taken out and being inter rogated or tortured, you get to know 'em pretty well,” Ellis said. To help cope, he and his fellow POWs also created a system of hand signals to converse silently and covertly among them selves. It was a lesson in cooperation that remains with him to this day. “We had shortcuts and abbreviations a long time before the internet came along,” Ellis said. “You’ve got to develop your people, school would help. McGi boney responded that it would be one of the most important things the state could do. The committee will meet two more times, with the next hearing sched uled for Sept. 22 at the Capitol. BankSouth President and CEO Harold Reynolds introduced retired U.S. Air Force Col. Lee Ellis to the Lake Oconee Church crowd. you’ve got to believe in them, and you’ve got to develop yourself.” Ellis lived what he preaches. Even while imprisoned, he recited poems remembered from his days as an English major at UGA. He said he also memorized in alpha betical order the names of more than 150 other POWs. He also learned Spanish and German from fellow U.S. POWs. “I don’t care who you are or how old you are; you’ve got to keep learning and growing,” he told his Greensboro audience. Ellis hosted a brief Q&A session following his talk, providing a unique opportunity for attendees to reflect and share personal stories of connection to the Vietnam War era. Several touching testimonies from the audience high lighted the emotional and historical impact of Ellis’ message. Following the program, a reception in the Lake MEAL JCOUNTRY Q92.3FM Home of Today's 1. Oconee Church lobby offered guests a chance to speak directly with Ellis, have one or all three of his books signed (leadingwithhonor.com), and connect further with others in atten dance. Many lingered in conversation, expressing their appreciation for the event’s message. “This was our first time doing an event like this at a completely new location and everyone made it appear as though we did this all the time,” BankSouth Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Matthews said. “I think the event was very impactful for the attendees. Any time you elicit an emotional response from the audi ence, you know you touched a chord. “We are thankful for the BankSouth volunteers that helped make this happen and of course Lake Oconee Church for their hospitality in hosting the event,” she added.
