Luke Ashley and Alex Beh

Mrs. Raymond
UWRT 1104-04
Writing Prompt #4
The relative that I chose to discuss is my paternal grandfather, Kermit Ashley. I have
always heard that my grandfather was an officer in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
After talking to my Dad, I learned a lot more about his experiences in the military and even what
happened before he went into the military.
Kermit was a captain when he was stationed in Da Nang as intelligence officer. He saw
many things as my Dad even said Your grandfather saw guts hanging from a fence and he was
even in the base while it was being bombed. He was also a tank officer at one point while he
was stationed at Camp Pendleton. Another fact that was really interesting about Kermit is that he
was stationed in Okinawa, Japan which is where my Brother is currently stationed at. Kermit
also was the jeep driver for John Glenn, a marine and former astronaut, during his military
career.
Other than the military, my grandfather was a great wrestler. He was a state champion of
North Carolina in high school and he eventually went to Appalachian State Teachers College
which is now Appalachian State University. Kermit even went to the 1956 Olympic Trials, but
during the trials he broke his thumb. He wanted to continue, but officials would not let him
wrestle. He also won a few tournaments such as the Scottish Wrestling Tournament that was
located in Charleston, South Carolina.

My grandfather has had a very interesting life, but after his military service, he served at
the VA hospital in Salisbury, North Carolina.