Ed Long speaks to students during a recent trip to Tharptown High School.

by Bart Moss for the FCT

It’s hard to find an adult that can keep the attention of high school students at the end of a long school year but 95-year old Ed Long did just that at Tharptown High School last week.

Long, a native of Mount Hope, is the oldest living Auburn basketball letterman and a World War II vet who was part of the D-Day invasion and fought in the Pacific Theater as well.

The students got a walk through history as Long sat at center-court in the gymnasium in a folding chair speaking without a microphone.  He talked about growing up in the fields of Lawrence County during the Great Depression.

“It was bad,” recounted Long. “We didn’t have a lot to eat.  We were always helping the family work in the fields.  We appreciated school a little more because if you weren’t in school you were working.”

After graduating from Mount Hope, Long attended Auburn University where he tried out for the basketball team.  When he got to the gym and saw the competition he thought it was a hopeless case.

“When I walked in the gym there over a hundred other guys there to try out,” said Long.  “I thought about just turning around and walking out.”

Long stayed and made the team and went on to earn his letter.  He recently was honored at the Auburn basketball Letterman’s Banquet, an event he has never missed.

“I sat at the table with Coach [Bruce] Pearl and Charles Barkley,” said Long.  “It was great fun.  I will keep going as long as I can.”

Upon leaving Auburn, Long entered the armed forces at the outset of World War II.  One of his first missions was to help assist British troops.  Later, he became more directly involved in the war as part of the D-Day invasion and fighting in the Pacific.

Long showed his sense of humor when someone asked him what it was like being on a boat for so long.

“It was fine as long a no one was shooting at you,” he said.

Since returning home from the war, Long has resided in Lawrence County.  It was the first time he said he’s been asked to speak to a group like that.

Long’s generation has been dubbed the Greatest Generation.  When asked if he thought that was a correct description he said, “Yes.  I think so.  After everything we went through and everything we experienced I think we left the world a better place.”