Page 46 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2020- Lubbock Online Magazine
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Clarence Calloway, Jr.
“Everybody was Scared”
By Larry Williams
Veterans Liaison Co-Chair
Texas South Plains Honor Flight
ecorated veteran meaning of hard work. Even as us up in a limousine and told
Clarence Calloway, Jr. a young child, he hoed weeds us to take no luggage with us.
Dsaid that “When we first and picked cotton. Knowing he They had us stand on footprints
got to Vietnam, everybody was needed to help the family, he painted on the pavement. We
scared.” Clarence was but one joined the Job Corps at 16. He were put on cattle cars for the
of over 2.7 million Americans wound up in McCook, Nebraska trip to California. I became
who served in Vietnam. As and Clearview, Utah “doing a ‘Hollywood Marine’. (Ed.
it has been with all American whatever jobs they told me to Note: Due to their proximity to
wars, it was a young man’s war. do, but I was able to get my Tinseltown, Marines who graduate
As former President Herbert G.E.D. diploma.” from MCRD San Diego are called
Hoover once said, “Older men “Hollywood Marines.”)
declare war, but it is the youth Returning to Lamesa, Clarence
who must fight and die.” enlisted in the service on April Training was intense and
29, 1969. He recalled that “back comprehensive for Calloway
Clarence was born on September then, everyone was assigned to and his fellow Marines. “We
18, 1948 to Clarence and Corine the Army, but the Marines had had to learn how to patch up
Calloway. He was the second- to make a quota (of enlisted the wounded. We hit the rifle
born of a family that would men), and my name was called. range, ran 15 miles per day,
grow to ten children. Clarence I loved the uniform. I took a learned hand-to-hand combat,
and his family knew the test in Abilene. They picked how to do a ‘quick kill’; we took
46 Lubbock Senior Link
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Lubbock Senior Link
