Bronze Star winner dedicates American flag from Afghanistan mission to his College adviser
Colby Hammonds presents Dr. Jeannette Moore the combat flag he dedicated with thanks for her faith in him during his student days.
(Courtesy Dr. Jeannette Moore)
(Courtesy Dr. Jeannette Moore)
In 14 years as a professor in the Department of Animal Science, Undergraduate Teaching Coordinator Jeannette Moore has advised more than 500 students about the ins and outs of earning a degree in the College. Each student is different, she says, and that's what makes being an academic adviser enjoyable.
Often, students and alumni contact professors like Moore with requests for letters of recommendation or to invite them to a wedding or announce the birth of a child. Last summer, Moore heard from a former student who had an unusual message for her.
Moore was at a teacher's conference in Florida in June, and just before she stepped out of her hotel room to head to dinner, she checked her e-mail inbox.
A message from a former student was waiting: "I graduated in 1998 and you were one of my many academic advisers. I forced all my other advisers into retirement but not you. . Maybe you remember the times we had a good laugh about my grades."
That student was Captain Colby Q. Hammonds, and he was just getting back from an 11-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. There he served as commander of an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter company in the 1st Battalion 130th Aviation Attack Regiment in the North Carolina Army Reserve National Guard.
Hammonds commanded 136 soldiers, flew more than 89 hours in combat and earned a Bronze Star. And there, in the theater of war, he had remembered his College adviser:
"During our time there, we had a program where we could fly an American flag during a combat mission and dedicate that flag to someone. I have always felt you helped me out in college in many ways and I wanted to dedicate a flag to you."
In her hotel room, Professor Moore was overwhelmed, and she began to cry. "I was touched," she says. "War seems distant until something like this happens. Then it's personal." She says she'd assumed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan think about war all the time. "Apparently, they think about home, too."
Hammonds' thoughtfulness was a nice reminder that "teachers and advisers have much more of an impact than they realize." She remembered the fierce determination in Hammonds that helped him get back on his academic feet after a hiatus from his studies. He'd wanted to be a Marine more than a student, but at his mother's insistence and Moore's direction he stuck with college, working three jobs and focusing intently on his studies. Hammonds finally graduated in 1999, earning a B.S. degree in animal science.
The flag that Hammonds dedicated to Moore, purchased with his own funds, had flown in the cramped cockpit of an attack helicopter. Then it was folded in crisp military fashion and framed behind glass. Normally unemotional, Hammonds found himself filled with feeling when he presented the flag to Moore in June.
"I just wanted Dr. Moore to know, even four or five years after the fact, that the little bit of time she spent with me means something important to me. If I didn't say it then, I want to say it now."
In some small way, he adds, Moore deserves credit for a piece of his Bronze Star. She once believed in him when he didn't give anyone reason for believing in his commitment. His medal, he says, is a testament to a teacher's faith in her student.
-Anton Zuiker
Often, students and alumni contact professors like Moore with requests for letters of recommendation or to invite them to a wedding or announce the birth of a child. Last summer, Moore heard from a former student who had an unusual message for her.
Moore was at a teacher's conference in Florida in June, and just before she stepped out of her hotel room to head to dinner, she checked her e-mail inbox.
A message from a former student was waiting: "I graduated in 1998 and you were one of my many academic advisers. I forced all my other advisers into retirement but not you. . Maybe you remember the times we had a good laugh about my grades."
That student was Captain Colby Q. Hammonds, and he was just getting back from an 11-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. There he served as commander of an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter company in the 1st Battalion 130th Aviation Attack Regiment in the North Carolina Army Reserve National Guard.
Hammonds commanded 136 soldiers, flew more than 89 hours in combat and earned a Bronze Star. And there, in the theater of war, he had remembered his College adviser:
"During our time there, we had a program where we could fly an American flag during a combat mission and dedicate that flag to someone. I have always felt you helped me out in college in many ways and I wanted to dedicate a flag to you."
In her hotel room, Professor Moore was overwhelmed, and she began to cry. "I was touched," she says. "War seems distant until something like this happens. Then it's personal." She says she'd assumed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan think about war all the time. "Apparently, they think about home, too."
Hammonds' thoughtfulness was a nice reminder that "teachers and advisers have much more of an impact than they realize." She remembered the fierce determination in Hammonds that helped him get back on his academic feet after a hiatus from his studies. He'd wanted to be a Marine more than a student, but at his mother's insistence and Moore's direction he stuck with college, working three jobs and focusing intently on his studies. Hammonds finally graduated in 1999, earning a B.S. degree in animal science.
The flag that Hammonds dedicated to Moore, purchased with his own funds, had flown in the cramped cockpit of an attack helicopter. Then it was folded in crisp military fashion and framed behind glass. Normally unemotional, Hammonds found himself filled with feeling when he presented the flag to Moore in June.
"I just wanted Dr. Moore to know, even four or five years after the fact, that the little bit of time she spent with me means something important to me. If I didn't say it then, I want to say it now."
In some small way, he adds, Moore deserves credit for a piece of his Bronze Star. She once believed in him when he didn't give anyone reason for believing in his commitment. His medal, he says, is a testament to a teacher's faith in her student.
-Anton Zuiker