By Tiffany Allison
Drafted during the Berlin Crisis by President John
F. Kennedy, Sonny Sweet embarked on a mission that lasted
far beyond his draft into a life of service culminating
in his current “posting” as the executive director
of the Watauga County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Sonny Sweet serves as
the executive director of the Watauga County Chapter
of the American Red Cross. Photo
by Tiffany Allison |
Sweet reminisced about the day he received his letter from
the U.S. military. At the time, he drove a truck for a cotton
mill in Ramsure, N.C., population, 1,000.
“I got that infamous letter starting with ‘Greetings.’
Anyone back then knew a government letter starting with
greetings was bad news,” he said.
He never settled anywhere longer than two years in his youth,
since his father’s pastoral calling required them to
move across the state from Concord to Avery County and to
Jefferson. To Sweet, responding to his government’s
call for soldiers seemed reasonable.
Laughing in the irony of his younger self, Sweet said, “I
told my dad, I’m not going to be a minister and move
every two or three years, and I ended up drafted and moved
every two or three years. Anyways, it was fun. It was a
great career, and I’d highly recommend it.”
Stationed in Washington D.C. within the Pentagon, Private
Sweet began to train as an intelligence officer. As the
administration joined together in promoting an inspirational
atmosphere, the White House became a place of comfort and
an icon of America’s success.
“You could stand at the fence and watch the resident
play touch football on the White House lawn and cheer him
on in those days,” he said.
As time progressed, a yearning for action burned deeper
in the young private. This passion linked with motivation
for a higher rank pushed Sweet to join officer candidate
school in Fort Benning, Ga.
“I thought, ‘It’s not a bad life being enlisted,
but it’d probably be better as an officer,’ so
I went to school,” he said. “But two weeks after
I reported to school, President Kennedy was assassinated.
I think it inspired all of us young men to go out and save
the world for democracy.”
Upon his induction into the infantry officer candidate program,
Sweet served in Vietnam and Desert Storm climbing his way
up through the ranks eventually retiring in 1992 as a colonel.
Although a career army man, Sweet also served the U.S. Marine
Corps as a captain during Vietnam looking for intelligence
information and serving as ground reconnaissance. Sweet
worked with every branch of the military except for the
Coast Guard throughout his time serving.
After his 30-year stint with the armed forces, he retired
to the San Francisco Bay area. While he waited in the airport
for his flight, Sweet picked up a The Mountain Times and
turned to an article about the Watauga County chapter of
the American Red Cross needing an executive director. He
walked directly to the phone and called Judith Bevin acquiring
about the position.
“Here was an opportunity to return to my home state,
and I jumped on it, and it was a good decision,” he
said. “It makes it even more special being able to
help people in your home state, and the ability to help
people is wonderful.”
In addition to the natural relationship between the American
Red Cross and military, Sweet spent many of his childhood
years in Ashe County. His career with the military lent
opportunities for Sweet to work with the American Red Cross
and their role in supporting the military family.
“There’s a natural extension for me between the
Army and the Red Cross,” Sweet said. “So I came
here to Watauga County — all thanks to Brenda Binning
and Judith Bevan, and we are still serving together 14 years
later.”
Although Sweet look forward to his new mission, he hated
the idea of moving. Before he settled in Watauga County,
he moved 26 times. His longest station was three years in
Berlin. And although his career path did not lead him to
church leadership, Sweet ministers to Watauga County in
disaster relief.
“I wanted to keep the mountain tradition of taking
care our own, and I like looking at it that way,” he
said.
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