Veterans HOF call for nominations

Apr. 3—The Cullman Veterans Hall of Fame is looking to build on its 2023 beginnings, sounding the call across the community for nominees to welcome into its upcoming 2024 class.

The nomination period will remain open until July 16 for local veterans who'd make ideal candidates for this year's batch of inductees. Anyone can make a nomination, whether a friend, family member, coworker or fellow veteran — and organizers note that no candidate should be reluctant to be considered just because their military service might not have included a combat tour.

"We want to recognize the heroes in our community, and that can look different depending on the veteran," said Army Col. Don Fallin (ret.), who spearheaded the Veterans Hall of Fame with its inaugural event last year.

"People have come to me and asked, 'My family member didn't have an opportunity to serve in a combat zone: Can they still be nominated?' — and the answer to that is, 'Yes.' We're looking at both honorable service in the military, but also at service to the community. You do not have to be a combat veteran to be eligible for the Veterans Hall of Fame."

The Hall of Fame operates as an all-volunteer effort, and Fallin recently returned from a fundraising effort that signifies how personal an effort that can be. In March, Fallin took part in the Bataan Memorial Death March at New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range, completing in less than 10 hours a tough 26.2-mile marathon trek that covered a 4,000-foot elevation change (all while strapped with a 20-pound rucksack) to raise money for this year's HOF activities.

Fallin said there's not a lot of daunting paperwork involved in the nominating process, which asks only for basic information on the candidate's nominating sponsor as well as a brief, but descriptive narration that highlights each nominee's military service, service to veterans and service to their community. One candidate's story will be different from another's, a fact the HOF selection committee takes into account as it considers each nomination.

Last year's inaugural class of Hall of Fame veterans included Lt. Col. (ret.) Johnnie R. Strickland, US Navy / US Army Reserves; Donald Michael (Mike) Martin, USMC; Steven L. Larsen, USMC; Robert R. Turner, USMC; Col. (ret.) Ken Brown, USAF; and, posthumously, Tech. Sgt. (ret.) Jerry La Otto Willibey, USAF.

This year's new class of inductees will be announced at a dinner and ceremony to be held in the fall, with year-two Hall of Fame veterans receiving a commemorative plaque to display through the year at the Cullman County Courthouse, as well as a permanent place of honor on a separate plaque that commemorates all the honor's recipients through the years.

Fallin said the HOF committee has retained all nomination packets for candidates who were considered, but not awarded, last year, and that those nominees automatically will be considered once again as part of this year's selection process.

Nomination packets are available (or will be made available soon) in a number of places, including online at the Facebook pages for the Cullman VFW Post 2214 and the American Legion Cullman Post 4. Packets also can be obtained by contacting the office of associate Cullman County Commissioner Garry Marchman, as well as by contacting Fallin himself at 910-308-4197. Packets should be returned no later than July 16.

Contact Fallin at the phone number above if you'd like to donate to the Hall of Fame, or to arrange for an HOF representative to share more information about the program with your local organization.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.

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