"The

American soldier is the best fighting soldier in

the world," according to Fayetteville's

resident four-star Gen. Bill Livsey (retired).

He

should know. Livsey fought in Korea, served in

Vietnam and advised Gen. Norman Schwartzkopf

during the Gulf War.

The

quintessential American soldier and all veterans

of military service will be honored tomorrow,

Veterans Day, with wreaths laid before granite

memorials and crimson poppies sold to the public.

As

one of Fayette County's illustrious veterans,

Livsey was pleased to talk about his 35-year

career in the Army, and the confidence he has in

the nation's fighting force.

Livsey

has often been described as a "soldier's

general." He mixed with noncommissioned

personnel as well as Pentagon brass, and truly

cared for the soldiers in his command, according

to Maj. Gen. Jack Wheeler, another retired

Fayette veteran.

Livsey

was quoted by a New York Times correspondent in

1981 while in command of the 7th Army Corps, 8th

Infantry Division, in West Germany as saying,

"I looked 'em in the eye and told `em I

loved `em, `cause I did. I saw them in the mud

and the sleet and snow and sunshine and dust for

two years. We ran exercises, and we shot and we

did everything. We washed vehicles and we cleaned

and occasionally we had a setback... but, by God,

they were just magnificent."

With

a positive attitude, Livsey said he believes,

"A 21-year-old American soldier can do

anything if properly led. You can fool your

bosses, even fool your peers, but you can't fool

your soldiers."

He

also made it a point during his command to know

what was really going on with his soldiers.

"The chain of command is a beautiful thing,

but there are other ways of getting information.

I'd go down to the soldiers' bar, buy them a beer

and say, `OK, guys, what's really

happening'?"

And

Livsey still keeps informed. Although he is

officially retired, his expertise in the field of

military campaigning and his knowledge of the

Korean Plan is still sought after today. He stays

in touch with his comrades in Korea, having

served there as commanding general of the U.S.

forces prior to his 1987 retirement, and is in

demand as a consultant.

Sitting

on the tree-shaded screened porch of his

Fayetteville home, Livsey can recount stories

from his student ROTC days at North Georgia

College, zip through two wars, and zero in on his

thoughts about today's military. He fires up one

of his trademark cigars as he sets the scene for

the beginnings of his Army career.

Born

in Clarkston in 1931, Livsey found himself

graduating from North Georgia College in 1952

with a commission in the Army as a second

lieutenant, and orders to ship out to Korea.

"I didn't see it coming," he recalls.

At

the time, Livsey had no plans to make the

military his career. He had also just married his

college sweetheart, Bena Sue Burns of East Point,

and had been scouted by the St. Louis Cardinals

for a potential slot in their farm system.

"But within one week of being commissioned a

second lieutenant, I was up to my butt in Chinese

in Korea... the Army quickly got into my blood...

the Army to me was never a job, it was a

commitment, a way of life," Livsey said.

He

returned to the States to serve as a company

commander at Fort Benning in 1954, and after

various assignments at the Georgia Army base was

sent overseas to Germany in 1958, where he

eventually returned years later as commanding

general.

Livsey

would rather tell stories about his 5K road race

when he took command at Fort Benning in July of

1977, and arm wrestling contests with his father,

than elaborate on his accomplishments, awards and

decorations. He recalled the days when he used to

get down on the floor and arm wrestle with his

father on visits home to Clarkston.

On

one rare occasion, Livsey out-wrestled him.

"Here I am a two-star general and my father

is 73. He looks at me and says, `You know, you

might amount to something some day.'" He

breaks into a loud laugh and draws on his cigar.

Livsey

said he would like to see the country "go

back to a draft. It's good for the youth of

America to serve for two years in some

capacity." He noted that a draft would also

provide the U.S. with a "base of

mobilization," recognizing that the military

is half the size it was 12 years ago. "In

the last three years, we've had trouble meeting

our quota for enlistments."

He

regards women in the Army as

"interesting," adding, "Females

are making a helluva contribution." Today's

Army is "more uptight," according to

Livsey, than it used to be, allowing soldiers

"no wiggle room" for breaking the

rules.

What

did Livsey find to be the hardest thing about

being a general? "Managing time." He

would instruct his assistant to "Bring me

next month's calendar..." and he would

proceed to find a couple of free days to visit a

compound and "drop in and see what's

happening."

One

of Livsey's sons has followed his footsteps into

the military, Brig. Gen. Tim Livsey, who received

his first star in September. He is currently

serving in Korea.

Another

illustrious Fayette County military man is Maj.

Gen. Jack Wheeler, who served as a commander

under Livsey in Korea. He now works as general

manager of The Citizen newspapers. Wheeler also

is a graduate of North Georgia College,

graduating in 1961.

In

July 1971, Wheeler developed plans and policies

for a volunteer army. "The rest of my career

involved policy development and policy

execution," he explained. Wheeler is a

positive thinker whose upbeat manner and

perpetually cheerful grin drives his current

"civilian force" to success in their

daily advertising sales rounds.

He

believes military experience gives men and women

"intangibles that will go with them for the

rest of their lives." Things like

"candor, courage, commitment and

competence" can be acquired through training

and leadership, he said.

Wheeler

believes that Americans "rise to the

occasion" when called upon to demonstrate

their patriotism. "History is filled with

examples of this," he noted.

"This

country has been blessed to the degree that it

has not suffered the ills other countries have,

but when our country suffers challenges abroad

that impact on our national security, they rise

to the occasion."

Wheeler

says our country is filled with "latent

patriots. It's there [patriotism], it's just not

demonstrated every day," he said. !

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