CRESTVIEW — The last time Terry Faulkner visited Vietnam, his hosts from his recent visit were trying to kill him.

But that was in 1968, and they were enemies. This time, 48 years to the day, they met as friends.

On March 25, Faulkner and two other Vietnam War veterans, Steve Edmonds from California and John Cimino from Atlanta, stood on “Firebase 14,” a hilltop where nearly a half-century before, each thought he would die.

“It was quite a battle,” Faulkner said. “When it was over, you pinch yourself and say, ‘Am I really still living?’”

This time, instead of the U.S. Army sending them up the hill about 300 miles north of Saigon — now called Ho Chi Minh City — it was former North Vietnamese Army soldiers escorting the vets in an open-transport truck that nearly overturned on the steep, narrow trail.

“That day in the battle, we were determined to kill each other, but now we stood there shaking hands as friends,” Faulkner said.

‘IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL’

Returning to Vietnam brought back a flood of memories and emotions, Faulkner said. He didn’t know what to expect after the grueling, nearly 24 hours of travel.

“When we arrived, there was no hesitation. It was like we were long-lost friends. It was very emotional,” he said. “It put a different outlook on it, meeting them face-to-face. You realize they were soldiers like we were, doing what they were told.”

The GIs won the battle, decimating the determined North Vietnamese soldiers, many of whom are buried in a cemetery the vets visited with their five hosts, who were among the handful of survivors.

“They said there were a few more still alive, but they were incapacitated,” Faulkner said. “Most lost their lives in the battle.”

He and his comrades visited the cemetery, saluted their foes’ bravery, and reflected on war’s devastation, but primarily focused on the present and the future.

“At no time was there mention of what we did during the battle. There was no mention of killing,” Faulkner said. “That wasn’t the purpose of the trip. It was to say ‘Hey.’ The years have made us wiser. On that day of battle, men on both sides died.”

‘A GREAT EXPERIENCE’

Faulkner and his wife, Karen, were surprised by the kindness of people he was once thought were “the enemy.” Even strangers smiled on the street, one family inviting them to see their home.

“We were walking along the street and we heard someone say, ‘Hello.’ They all know how to say ‘Hello.’ They wanted us to see their house, so we spent an hour with them,” Faulkner said.

“They were very polite. I wish all Americans were that polite. During the war, we had to look at them as the enemy, but they’re really very gentle and polite people. All of them are.

“Especially in the North, everybody comes out to greet you. They all talked about how great America was. It was really a great experience mingling with them.”

‘I’M A DIFFERENT MAN’

Faulkner has no regrets about his two-year tour of duty in Vietnam, saying, “I have nothing to apologize for” when someone asked if he intended to apologize to his hosts.

“I would pick up a weapon and defend my country again, but I’d want to know what’s going on this time,” Faulkner said. “We were told we were fighting communists. That’s kind of what I thought, we were fighting communists. I didn’t realize the poor man’s son went to fight the war and the rich man’s son stayed home and got richer.”

After having met his former foes and Vietnamese people, Faulkner, now retired from a career with Chrysler and an evangelist, said he’d like to return to Vietnam to share his faith.

“I told Karen, ‘I’d like to come back one more time. I’d like to preach the gospel to them about Jesus and let them know how great he is,’” Faulkner said.

“I’m a different man than when I went over there … Instead of a weapon of destruction, I’d like to take a weapon of construction.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: This time as friends: Crestview vet returns to Vietnam (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

BAKER — Traditional local southern cookin’ will meet Louisiana bayou fare and English “pub grub” when the former Mickey’s Grocery and Grill reopens next month as Hunter’s Moon.

Charles Gray, grandson of local pastor Cecil Head, returned to his hometown after 10 years in England, where he operated pubs in County Hertfordshire outside London.

Head, who was also an educator and general store owner, traded at the store, formerly Quentin Steele’s Grocery, that has stood on Mickey’s site for almost a century, Gray said.

“We’re going to have a general store like Mickey’s to serve the community,” Gray said. “The fishermen and hunters are still going to have crickets and worms and supplies.”

In the restaurant side of the State Road 189 business, fresh cooking is a priority, he said.

“It’s going to be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s going to be like the old Mickey’s in that respect,” Gray said. “The main goal is to make sure everything’s fresh and new and local.”

As Gray talked, Baker woodworker Don Brown of Don’s Designs installed rustic paneling made from reclaimed local wood. Much of the wood came from an old barn that collapsed further north of Hunter’s Moon.

“He’s been real good to us,” Gray said. “He’s a one-man show, doing everything for us in here.”

Gray found many similarities in local and English country cooking while living with his former wife, an Englishwoman, in her homeland.

Consequently, in addition to traditional local favorites and Cajun specialties, his menu adapts English fare to the North Okaloosa County palate.

“I’m trying to keep it to English stuff that is close to southern fare; the home cooking with vegetables,” Gray said. “Folks may not realize they’re eating something that’s English.”

The menu features pub classics such as bangers and mash — grilled sausages and mashed potatoes topped with a savory onion gravy — fish and chips, “and then we’ll ease in with other stuff,” Gray said.

“In wintertime we’ll probably do heartier food like shepherd’s pie,” he said. “Maybe we’ll be doing a Sunday roast dinner. That’s very traditional.”

Gray assured patrons he won’t offer some of the more unusual dishes for which English cuisine is known.

“I’m not going to be serving blood pudding or something like that,” he said, laughing.

Gray said he and his business partner, Baker resident Brian Bass, hope to open the store and restaurant May 9, provided state and local permits are approved.

Charles Gray — proprietor of the new Hunter’s Moon grocery store and restaurant in Baker, opening next month in Mickey’s Grocery and Grill’s location — is local pastor and educator Cecil Head’s grandson.

“Cecil Head built the church next to Sloan’s Store in Blackman in the ‘40s,” Gray said. “He was a preacher in the area for many, many years. He moved here from Alabama in 1918 or 1920. He lived to be 103. He died in 2006.

“He was pretty well known in the area. He was the teacher and principal in a lot of the older schools out here.

“He didn’t run this store (Mickey’s) but he was a frequent customer back in the day. They would barter back then. Local farmers would give him hay or stray.

“He’d take that down to the mill to feed the horses and they’d give him lumber to build his store or his church.”

CECIL HEAD

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mickey's in Baker reopening with local, English, Cajun accents (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Children in Crisis has extra support for its programs benefiting at-risk children. The Okaloosa County Sheriff First Judicial Circuit Law Enforcement Association donated $750 to the nonprofit organization.

The funds will be used to purchase computer and educational equipment for at risk children living at the CIC Neighborhood.

"We provide a home to about 100 children every year and most are behind in school.  This donation will be an enormous help with our tutoring and educational programs to get our kids back on track,” Ken Hair, CIC president and CEO, said.

The CIC Neighborhood in Fort Walton Beach provides emergency shelter for children removed from an unsafe environment on short notice, and offers housing to help with foster home shortage. 

Learn more at www.childrenincrisisfl.org or call 864-4242.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa first judicial circuit group donates to Children in Crisis

MILTON — The Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation, along with businessman Don Norris, held the Milton Cruise-In on Saturday in downtown Milton.

“The Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation is excited about its partnership with Don Norris in providing another aspect of culture for downtown Milton,” said Pamela Holt, Santa Rosa Arts and Culture secretary and Milton Cruise-In chairman.

The foundation is working with other car show enthusiasts to bring themed shows and cruise-ins to Milton, Holt said.

The Cruise-In, featuring classic cars, takes place the fourth Saturday of each month, until October, on North Willing Street. The next event is 6 p.m. Saturday, May 28. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Car lovers, classic automobiles fill downtown Milton

Need something to do this weekend? Check out these fun events:

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 things to do this week in North Okaloosa

JAY — The 14th Annual Jay Pro Rodeo is 8 p.m. April 29 and 30 at the Ted May Arena in Jay.

The 3R Rodeo Company, from Jemison, Ala., will entertain the crowd with pro bull riding, saddle broncs, calf and team roping, steer wrestling, and women’s breakaway and barrel racing. For the little ones, there’s the calf scramble and more.

Food will be available at the concession stand and from local vendors.

Admission costs $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under. Parking is free. All proceeds benefit area youth programs such as the Jay High Student Government Association. 

The arena is a half-mile east of the red light on Highway 4 in Jay. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The rodeo is coming to Jay April 29-30

CRESTVIEW — Drivers will encounter these traffic restrictions on Okaloosa and Walton County state roads as crews perform construction activities.

Okaloosa County

●Interstate 10 resurfacing: Intermittent and alternating lane closures east and westbound, between the Santa Rosa County line and east of the County Road 189 (Holt Exit), 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, April 24 through Thursday April 28. The speed limit is reduced to 60 mph in the active work zone.

●U.S. 90 resurfacing: East and westbound lane closures, west of the Shoal River Bridge to the Walton County line, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 25 through Saturday, April 30 as crews perform construction activities.  

●U.S. 90 resurfacing: Eastbound and westbound lane closures, west of Summertime Drive to Old River Road, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 25 through Saturday, April 30 as paving operations continue.

Walton County

●I-10 resurfacing: Intermittent east and westbound lane closures, west of Boy Scout Road to east of U.S. 331, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 25 through Thursday, April 28.   

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 4 Okaloosa and Walton County traffic changes this week

CRESTVIEW — In two years, Alternative Living Inc., which operates Crestview Manor, may need to decide how best to serve its 60-some residents. That’s when the assisted living facility’s lease with Okaloosa County for their portion of the former Okaloosa Memorial Hospital runs out.

For now, the residents — mostly low-income Medicaid or Medicare recipients — will remain in the Pearl Street residence, and soon will be even more secure when a new roof is installed. Operating as Elder Services, the private company recently secured an approximately $300,000 Small Business Administration loan to replace the roof damaged in the April 2014 storm.

But that doesn’t stop Manor Director Becky Brice-Nash from worrying about her residents’ future. “If we go out of business, there are going to be all these people displaced,” she said. “It won’t just impact us, it’s going to impact the whole community. We are very much in need of low-income assisted living in our area.”

Alternative Living Director Ruth Lovejoy said the company sought a 10-year lease with a 10-year renewal option from the county to cover the loan’s 20-year life, making the 1955 building 81 years old when the loan is paid off.

County Facilities and Parks Maintenance Manager James Puckett said he will request funds in next year’s budget to reroof the part of the Manor not covered by Elder Services’ loan. “It’s a typical older county building,” Puckett said. “It’s one of those flat roofs that was typically built in that era. We’ve patched and fixed, but it’s getting harder to keep it patched. It’s better to tear it off and put a new one on.”

Brice-Nash said the county has approved building the new roof, but she still worries that, without an approved lease, North Okaloosa County’s most needy assisted living residents could become homeless. “We need to get someone on our side because these people will have no place to go,” Brice-Nash said. “In two years, this might be prime real estate for a parking area, I don’t know.”

However, County Commissioner Nathan Boyles said,“It is very premature for this to be an issue. The county is reviewing all the buildings in our inventory. We have many badly outdated buildings with maintenance issues largely as a result of poor decision-making in the past.”

But if Assisted Living Inc. had to start planning to move its Crestview services and residents to a new location in 2018, its resources would be limited, Lovejoy said. “There’s no way we could do it,” she said. “We’re on a bare-bones budget.”

She hopes Boyles and the Board of County Commissioners can help her find a solution.

“I have always liked Nathan Boyles because I think he’s a very honorable person,” Lovejoy said, adding she plans to meet with him Monday and hopes to discuss the building’s future.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Manor seeks lease renewal; director fears resident displacement

HOLT — Vehicles’ roar on the Emerald Coast Dragway earlier this week didn’t come from powerful dragsters, but from concrete trucks and support vehicles building new track-side safety walls.

Meanwhile, local contractors and volunteer track enthusiasts are tackling other projects, including rehabilitating the control tower after almost five years of vandalism.

PHOTOS: View photos of Emerald Coast Speedway refurbishments>>>

As partners Ozzy Moya and Robert Brown, with local project manager Jim Knight, renovate the dragstrip between Holt and Harold, new track walls, were being poured Monday and Tuesday.

While Moya still hopes for a Memorial Day weekend grand reopening, Brown and Knight said that depends on other repairs’ progress, but a summer opening is likely.

The rest of the track rehabilitation hinges on the walls being done, Brown said.

“It’s not your everyday wall you see on a highway bridge,” Brown said. “(Department of Transportation) and track standards are different. Before the asphalt can go down, the walls go up. You’ll ruin your brand new asphalt driving cement trucks up and down it.”

HELP FROM VOLUNTEERS

Pouring the new walls was a priority, Brown said, because track safety is their biggest concern. The concrete walls replace steel guardrails the guys called “can openers” because they sliced open dragsters veering off course at 200 mph.

Because a barrier paver that molds the walls in place without concrete forms was needed, the partners were at the contractor’s mercy.

“We had to use this out-of-state wall guy. Their schedule is our schedule,” Brown said. “Then we had rain and rain and rain.”

The rain delayed pouring the wall, not just due to the weather, but also because it washed out the clay base.

To the rescue came a team of track-lovin’, shovel-wielding local volunteers.

“They brought their own pick-ups in and loaded ‘em up with clay,” Brown said. “Several took off from work. One guy took a vacation day. They really want this track back.”

While the track sat vacant between 2011 and February, vandals shot out the control tower’s extra-strength safety windows — a $3,000 replacement expense — smashed holes in walls, spray-painted graffiti, destroyed bathroom fixtures and chopped out the kitchen vent hood.

“They worked hard at that to get a dollar’s worth of scrap metal,” Brown said.

PROFESSIONAL HELPERS

Brown and Knight shared a list of area contractors who provided cut-rate prices for various services just to see the dragway opened again. They include:

●John Nelson, A to Z Plumbing, who replaced vandalized bathroom fixtures and split pipes

●Jim Wise, Wise Equipment, who supplied the track with lawn mowers and other machinery

●Steve Potts, A&P Metal Works, who’s doing control tower air conditioning ductwork

●Jerry Guilliot at Crestview Ready Rent and Sales, who, saying, “I want to see that track back,” supplied heavy equipment

●William Clary of Holt Electric, who, in addition to rewiring the tower, is coordinating other contractors and also cut off the old track guardrail posts, charging just $1 per post.

The roster also reflects the owners’ determination to use local companies and workers whenever possible.

“We want to hire local,” Knight, a Baker resident, said.

Brown and Knight said the volunteers’ and contractors’ responses are typical of local racing fans eager to do what they can to help facilitate reopening day.

“People are coming together,” Brown said. “I might own it on paper, but it’s everyone’s track. It’s a family track.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Locals pitch in to help renovate Holt dragstrip (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — A refurbished Honda 2007 CBR1000 motorcycle is the prize for a raffle to benefit the family of homicide victims Shanna and Kevin McGrath, who, along with Elbert Merrick III, died Jan. 23.

An Okaloosa County grand jury indicted Jacob Rex Langston on Feb. 12 for first-degree premeditated murder in the death of Merrick, first-degree premeditated and/or felony murder for the McGraths’ deaths and two counts animal cruelty. The killings occurred Jan. 23 at the McGraths’ Crestview home.

Raffle tickets — one for a $10 donation or five for a $40 donation — are available now at Crestview Motorsports and NWF Powersports in Milton. All proceeds will be used to pay for the McGraths’ funerals and crime scene clean-up.

"Crime scene clean-up costs were approximately $14,000," Crestview Motorsports co-owner Amber Flanagan of Crestview said. "Funeral costs on average …. in Florida is between $600 and $3,000."

Flanagan and her husband, Alan, have given "a full-service and safety inspection on the bike, as well as put brand new Dunlop tires on (it) … it will be running perfect before the drawing, and it will be stored here at the shop for viewing," she said.

Crestview donation boxes are at CM; Restylers, 101 W. Edney Ave.; and STO, 5169 Ferdon Blvd. S. Another is at NWF Powersports in Milton.

The raffle ends with a noon to 1 p.m. drawing, giveaways and more on June 15 at the Crestview store. You don't have to be present to win. Barbecue sandwiches, chips and drinks will be available free of charge; a donation of $5 per plate is requested.

"You do not have to donate to eat," Flanagan said.

In addition, "Everyone who attends the event will get a 10 percent discount on parts and accessories when purchased at the time of the event."

Visit the Crestview Motorsports Facebook page, http://bit.ly/211avkK, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Motorcycle raffle set to offset Crestview homicide victims' funeral expenses