By Scott Nicholson
Earl Moretz has hand over his command of the American Legion,
but he still plans to participate in the organization in
which he’s spent the past 24 years.
Earl Moretz, here at
his home in the Big Hill community, plans to stay
active in the American Legion. Photo
by Scott Nicholson |
Moretz was born in the Big Hill community where he now
lives, entering military service in 1944. He served in the
European theater, in action in France and Germany through
the end of World War II. After leaving the service in 1946,
he embarked on a career in the dairy industry.
The youngest of four children, his family couldn’t
afford the farm they wanted, and Moretz eventually moved
to Forsyth County. There, he kept production records on
dairy cattle to track the amount of feed with the amount
of milk produced. “I thought that was a help to them,”
he said. “Every place I ever worked, the production
increased by a good amount.”
He moved back to Watauga County “after the snow thawed
in 1960,” he said, referring to a major blizzard in
the region. He worked at what was then called Appalachian
State Teacher’s College. “I didn’t have enough
paper to write the name on,” he said.
He worked with the college’s dairy farm until the
herd was sold shortly afterward, then spent 10 years teaching
at the Stonewall Jackson School For Boys, a reformatory
school for underage criminal offenders. The youngsters helped
with the cattle, and most of the milk was used at the school.
Moretz also had the opportunity to share his faith with
the boys at the school, distributing bibles and leading
religious discussions.
“The boys were put to work to learn a trade,”
Moretz said. “We would feed, milk, and process. We
did the pasteurizing and later we started homogenizing,
and we’d put it in bottles or five-gallon cans.
“We’d get New Testaments for free and give them
to the new boys as they came in and hope that would help
them.”
After moving back to Watauga County, he began teaching Sunday
school at Bethany Lutheran Church, where he has been a lifelong
member. He said studying and preparing to lead classes helped
him understand bible verses and he was able to memorize
many verses, though he said his memory isn’t as good
these days.
Earl Moretz as a member of the 70th U.S. Army Infantry
Division in 1946. Photo submitted |
“In 1976, a World War I veteran asked me to join the
American Legion,” he said. “I’ve been a member
ever since. I couldn’t attend the meetings very often
until I moved back.”
Moretz became commander of Watauga American Legion Post
130 in 1989. At the time, there were 48 members. When he
stepped down this month, there were nearly 200 members.
The American Legion conducts military honor ceremonies at
the funerals of veterans and gives memorial bibles to the
deceased’s family. The legion post also distributes
safety guides to the elementary schools in the form of coloring
books, an effort supported by local businesses.
Moretz married his wife Ruby in 1943, having four children,
10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Moretz’s
two brothers also served in the military, as well as his
oldest son, and Moretz said he originally enlisted because
he was tired of hearing people whisper about him being an
able-bodied civilian while so many other young men had been
drafted.
Moretz believes the draft should be compulsory to keep the
military prepared. He’s also noted there are more younger
veterans in the American Legion, particularly with the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The veterans ought to get better treatment than they
get,” Moretz said. “The government’s changed.
They said they were going to take good care of all of us.
It seems the government kind of forgot us after we got home.”
Moretz has no specific plans for “retirement,”
noting he may no longer be commander of the American Legion,
but he’ll remain active. “I didn’t quit,”
he said.
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