WWII veteran speaks to THS students
Ed Young 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 Young did just that at Tharptown High School last week.
Young, a native of Mount Hope, is the oldest living Auburn basketball letterman and a World War II veteran who was part of the D-Day invasion and fought in the Pacific Theater as well.
The students got a walk through history as Young 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 Young. “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, Young 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 Young. “I thought about just turning around and walking out.”
Young 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 Young. “It was great fun. I will keep going as long as I can.”
Upon leaving Auburn, Young 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.
Young 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 as no one was shooting at you,” he said.
Since returning home from the war, Young has resided in Lawrence County. It was the first time he said he’s been asked to speak to a group like that.
Young’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.”
