A Humble Hero

Dear Followers - Allow me a moment to share a brief story and honor a hero that I knew well whose funeral I attended back in 2012.

Dr. E.B. Posey was born on 6 October 1921 and passed away on 12 October 2012 at age 91.

I am honored and blessed to have known E.B. for 21 years prior to his passing and even more so by seeing him and talking with him at the Canyon Rotary Club while I visited the Canyon Rotary Club just a few weeks before he passed away.?

Weak and frail from age, he still made it to his beloved Canyon Rotary Club and struggled to stand up to shake my hand. I am so happy and grateful I had that one last opportunity to shake his hand and speak with him.

E.B. supported me when I was president of the Canyon Rotary Club in 2000 and continued to inspire and support me in all my Rotary endeavors including District Governor. He was a wonderful educator, Rotarian and friend.

Here is what most people did not know about Dr. Posey. E.B. served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. During the battle for Iwo Jima, he drove a Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) or “Higgins Boat” that delivered Marines to the beach.

E.B. would bring Marines ashore and ferry the wounded back to the ships and then do it again. He made 8 round trips from the ships to the beach despite having eight LVCPs blown out from under him. E.B. would find another boat and tirelessly keep going while braving the deadly fire coming from Mount Suribachi.

His official status during WWII.....noncombatant, meaning no medals, and he did not care.

After the war, all E.B. wanted was to go home, marry his high school sweetheart, Beth, raise a family, and become a teacher. He retired in 1993 as the Director of Teacher Certification at West Texas A&M University and named Professor Emeritus. Several veterans took him on an Honor Flight to Washington DC in 2012 and also worked to obtain the medals he deserved, including a Purple Heart.

E.B. Posey was a hero and a leader in every way. I admired him and loved him most by the way he humbly lived his life. I miss him greatly to this day so many years later.