They once answered the call, so many years ago, to serve their country.

World War II veterans answered the call again Tuesday to talk to National Honor Society students at LaGrange Academy.

“It’s a privilege and a pleasure to be here,” said Paul French, one of about 20 local veterans from the “Greatest Generation” to speak with the youths.

It was a casual atmosphere in the school’s media center with students and veterans – men and women – talking at individual tables, looking over pictures and sharing experiences.

“If anyone tells you they were scared, I don’t want to say they were lying, but ...,” veteran Al Tucci told a pair of students. 

Students and veterans continued to talk even after the lunch of potato salad and chicken was mostly polished off.

“It’s interesting what they’ve done and experienced,” said senior Mendi Kallum. “It’s stuff I could never imagine.”

The event Tuesday also served as a dedication ceremony for the school’s “Warrior Wall,” a wall honoring students with LaGrange Academy ties who have served in the military.

Josh Bailey, an Auburn University freshman, graduated from LaGrange Academy last year but came back to talk with the veterans. He’s a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps and plans a career in the military.

“It seems like it’s a different situation they were in but in reality it’s not,” Bailey said. “It’s about defending our country and standing up for freedom and what’s right.”

Ruth and Bill Guthrie married after meeting during military service in Kansas. Bill Guthrie stayed in the service until 1969, when he took a job at what’s now called West Georgia Technical College. Ruth Guthrie served in the WAVES, which stood for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. The wartime branch of the Navy was made up of women who took over stateside desk jobs so men could be sent overseas.

Memory Johnson, another WAVE, said it stood for “Women are very essential sometimes.”

The Guthries said coming to talk to the students made them feel patriotic.

“We’re a vanishing breed,” Ruth Guthrie said.

The vanishing of World War II veterans was one of the reasons LaGrange Academy teacher Janice Ingram wanted to hold the event.

“This is a dream come true of mine,” she said, as students and veterans socialized. “My students are learning firsthand from the Greatest Generation.”

Ingram’s son Richard was injured while serving in Iraq, losing part of his arm. He received treatment and is planning a return to military service; the Army had to rewrite the rules so he could do it.

But it was another Richard on Ingram’s mind during Tuesday’s event: Richard W. Wolfe. The World War II veteran and former Dunson Mill superintendent and civic leader had contacted Ingram the night before he died last month to tell her he’d be coming.

“He was a dear friend of mine,” Ingram said. “After Richard was hurt, he reached out to me. He was so concerned we would forget (about World War II veterans). I wanted to assure him we wouldn’t forget. We just want to be able to tell these people ‘thank you.’ ”

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.