Look Back ... to a Fort farewell, 1999
May 21—May 21, 1949: The date was a Saturday during the time when The Star wasn't published on that day of the week.
May 21, 1999, in The Star: Memories from the 82-year past of Fort McClellan flooded Guillion Field yesterday for the installation's official final farewell. Although the actual closure date is Sept. 30, the ceremony yesterday marked one of the last times all branches of the military will be together at the post before personnel move on. "The closing of Fort McClellan is truly the end of an era, but it will not be the end of time," said Maj. Gen. Ralph Wooten, the 47th and final commanding general at the "Military Showplace of the South." Soldiers on the parade field passed the reviewing stand with precision, revealing their training and preparation for the ceremony. After marching past, they continued ever forward, fading then disappearing over the eastern hills on the grounds. Also this date: School shootings in Littleton, Colo., and Conyers, Ga., have inspired fear, rumors and many conversations across the country. In Calhoun County, the community is acting. At the invitation of Sheriff Larry Amerson, a diverse local group has begun meeting to pool resources and to develop and broad violence-prevention strategy aimed at young people. The cooperative approach is important, Amerson said, because no single agency can prevent youth violence on its own.
Assistant Metro Editor Bill Edwards: 256-236-1551. On Twitter @bedwards_star.
