Our
keynote speaker, Dr. James Nicholson, joined the Marine
Corps after a year in college and served as a Marine infantryman in
George Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. He carried a Browning automatic
rifle through five major campaigns in the mountains of North Korea and
saw intense close combat before he was wounded and evacuated. He returned
to college to study medicine after he was discharged because his childhood
hero was a doctor who had shown faith in him as a boy. After living
through his experiences with the Marines in Korea, he decided "it’s
really important to do the one thing you want to do." A hospital
staff member since 1960, he helped form a Hunt County med-ical district
in order to be able to build a regional hospital in Greenville that
currently incorporates some of the finest medical care and modern cancer
centers in northeast Texas. On multiple occasions he has served as Chief
of the Medical Staff and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice.
Nicholson continues his “country doctor” practice within
the hospital. Married since 1953, he and his wife Wanda have four children
and eight grandchildren.
Dr.
Archie McDonald will be speaking about “Boyhood Memories
of WWII”; he will also sing several songs from the era. For 45
years, Dr. McDonald has taught history at Stephen F. Austin State University;
he has also served as director of the East Texas Historical Association
and as editor of the Association’s Journal for 37 years. He is
a past president of the TX State Historical Association, past vice chair
of the TX Historical Commis-sion, and author/editor of more than 20
books on historical topics--and one book of humor titled Helpful Cooking
Hints for House-husbands of Uppity Women. Along with teaching, McDonald
currently serves Stephen F. Austin State University as the University/Community
liason.
Friday
evening - Once again, “Chef” Frank Owens will concoct his
increasingly-world-famous chili for the culinary enjoyment
of all who partake. This is not the typical so-hot-you-can’t-breathe-after-eating-it-chili
of which Texans are so proud. And it is not pre-packaged--his chili
is home-made and might best be described as “Northern chili.”
After dinner, we will present the New Andrews Sisters
who have been singing together since 2003. They first got together to
lend their voices for a song or two in a 1940s radio show production
and have wowed their audiences with their tight harmonies and fun, crowd-pleasing
songs ever since. Some of their most requested numbers include “Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,”
“Bei Mir Bist Du Schon,” and “Sisters” with
“The Star Spangled Banner” as the conclusion to their 45
minute show. The New Andrews Sisters have performed in numerous venues
throughout their career and we are so excited that they will be performing
during Audie Murphy Days. Ticket prices are $10.00 for adults and $5.00
for children ages 5-12. The dinner will be served from 6-7pm and the
concert will begin at 7.
Saturday, June 26
The
Horse Detachment from Ft. Hood was established in 1972
when the First Cavalry Division Association voted to sponsor a Horse
Platoon and procured ten horses from the Army Pentathlon Team in San
Antonio, Texas. By the end of 1972, their herd had grown to 18 mounts,
and in 1973 they added two mules and an 1878 Escort Wagon to their inventory.
In the late 1970s, the Army recognized the Horse Platoon as a Special
Ceremonial Unit and took over financial oversight of the unit. Today
the Detachment is the only permanently-staffed and independently-funded
mounted cavalry unit on active duty in the Army. Renamed the Horse Cavalry
Detachment to better conform to historical precedent in 1986, it has
appeared in three Presidential Inaugural Parades, five Tournament of
Roses Parades, the 1984 World's Fair, and literally thousands of state
and local events. The Detachment is currently comprised of two commissioned
officers, 29 enlisted soldiers, and one civilian; and their stables
include 40 horses, nine mules, and one dog. The unit prides itself on
self-sufficiency and regularly sends its enlisted members to advanced
civilian-run school programs where they learn the skills needed
to become farriers, saddlemakers, and boot-makers for the Detachment.
Judge Rick Beacom of Greenville will
speak about patriotism and what it means to be an American. He received
a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Catholic University of America, Washington,
D.C. in 1966; three years later he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence
from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. From 1969 to 1973,
he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.
From 1973 to 1996, Beacom has practiced law and mediated in Greenville.
In 1997, he was elected to be Judge of the 354th District Court of Texas,
a position he still holds.
Friday & Saturday, June 25-26
Paul Picerni, who acted with Audie
in To Hell and Back and is perhaps best known for his role as Elliot
Ness’s sidekick Lee Hobson in The Untouchables, will return for
Audie Days (he was last here about four years ago). During WWII, Picerni
joined the Army Air Forces where he served as a first lieutenant bombardier
in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew 25 combat missions and received
the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak Leaf
Clusters. After the war, Paul went into acting, and his career includes
roles in 63 motion pictures and 455 TV shows. (For a more detailed biography,
see the March edition of The Compress.) Paul will say a few words on
Friday and will do a Q&A on Saturday evening after the hot dog supper
and before the showing of an Audie movie (title not yet determined)
Once again we are pleased to have the Hunt
County Veterans’ Honor Guard perform their ceremonial
Recognition of Veterans. This independent unit of volunteers evolved
from the Northeast Texas Coalition. Their primary purpose is to honor
veterans and to perform military ceremonies as appropriate, such as
being the Honor Guard at veterans’ funerals. The Honor Guard continues
to search for new members, both veterans and non-veterans, to expand
on the number of ceremonies they can perform.
We are again honored to have members of the Ft.
Sill Sgt. Audie Murphy Club serve as our color guard. In an
impressively military manner, they will post the colors on both Friday
and Saturday mornings and retire them at the end of each session. These
young men (and women) come on their own accord; in fact, last year,
one of the soldiers, SFC Rodmond Churchill was actually on leave and
at home during Audie Days. Instead of passing of the “duty”
to someone else, he took time away from his family and drove up from
his home near Killeen to serve in the color guard because he “had
already made the commitment.”
Paul Picerni returns to Museum
for Audie Murphy Days
Fans
of Golden Age television will remember Paul Picerni as Elliot Ness'
side-kick, "Lee Hobson", in the crime-busting series, The
Untouchables with Robert Stack. Movie fans might instantly associate
him with the horror hit, House of Wax, in which he played the romantic
lead -- in 3-D! These credits are just the tip of the iceberg in Picerni's
stage-screen-TV career, where he acted alongside stars on the level
of John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Audie Murphy, Burt Lancaster, Vincent Price,
Charles Bronson and his best friend Telly Savalas.
Born in 1922, in New York, Paul Picerni graduated as
president of his class and received the proficiency medal for scholastic
excellence. As an Eagle Scout he was selected to represent the borough
of Queens at the World Jamboree in Washington, D.C.
Picerni later joined the Army Air Forces during World
War II, where he served as a first lieutenant bombardier in the China-Burma-India
Theater. He flew 25 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying
Cross and the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. He was the bombardier
on one of the planes which attacked and destroyed the real bridge made
famous in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. After the Japanese
surrendered, Picerni became a Special Services officer in India. Following
his discharge, he enrolled at Loyola Marymount University, at Los Angeles.
Paul graduated in 1949, as a drama major from Loyola
University in Los Angeles and was hired by Mount St. Mary's College
to teach speech and drama. Also at this time, the Los Angeles Rams NFL
football team hired him as their half-time master of ceremonies, a job
he performed for thirty years until the Rams moved to Anaheim.
In 1950, Warner Brothers Studios signed him to the role of Private Edward
P. Rojeck in a war story called Break-through. This led to a Warner
Brothers contract for Picerni and a succession of roles at that studio
including a starring turn as the hero in the 1953 horror classic House
of Wax. After his departure from Warner Brothers, he appeared with Audie
Murphy in Universal Studio's, To Hell and Back.
All in all, Paul Picerni has played roles in sixty-three
motion pictures, has been the commercial spokesman for GE, Rexall Drugs,
and the Weber Company and has guest-starred in 455 television shows.
Throughout Hollywood, Paul is known as the "Benefit
King". Paul has M.C.'d banquets for numerous benefits through the
years. A week doesn't go by that Paul doesn't get a request to M.C.
some function. His answer is always yes.
Paul and his wife Marie still live in the same large
ranch-style home in California where they raised their eight children,
but now the noises you hear there are from the ten grandchildren.
Paul Picerni was last at Audie Murphy Days about four
years ago and is remembered as being very outgoing and totally involved
both days. We are looking forward to having Paul back again!
Please Note
Although in past years the Museum has not
charged admission to the Museum for Audie Murphy Days, out of necessity,
there will be a small change this year. Regular Museum admission prices
will be charged to get into the Museum ($5.00 for adults, $3.00 for
seniors, and $1.00 for students). As always, members will get in free.
For this event, this charge will only apply once and will cover both
Friday and Saturday.
Please pass this information along to friends of yours
who are planning to attend Audie Murphy Days, and encourage them to
become members! It is partially through the support of you, our loyal
members, that the Museum is able to have Audie Murphy Days, which honors
WWII’s most decorated soldier and all of America’s military
men and women.
Out-of-towners: Three of Greenville’s hotels have
offered a discount for Audie Days: Quality Inn, Holiday Inn Express
and Best Western. Be sure to book your rooms early as we think there
is at least one other event happening that weekend. Be sure to mention
Audie Murphy Days for your discounted rate.
Thanks
to the following sponsors who have donated funds or goods and
services to Audie Murphy Days 2010
Wayne & Margie Cutshaw
Hunt County
KIKT/KGVL Radio
Herald Banner
Qualilty Inn
Super 1 Foods
Best Western Monica Royale
Wal-Mart
U.S. Postal Service
Aerobic Water
Adkisson Florist
American Legion Post 1
Domino's Pizza
Holiday Inn Express
Staples Office Supply
Omni Sources Marketing
C & H Coffee
Joe Gibson Cadillac
Rowenia Ely
Deanna Glause
Farrell & Charlotte Nalls
Funding
for this event is provided in part by the City of Greenville Hotel/Motel
Occupancy Tax Revenue and with a grant from Humanities Texas,
the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
And a special Thank You to our tireless Audie
Murphy Days Committee:
Bernie Herlt
Jimmy James
Larry Winters
Barbi Weaver
Robert Davis
Larry Kaler
The Audie Murphy/American
Cotton Museum
600 Interstate 30 East Location Map
P.O. Box 347
Greenville, Texas 75403
903-450-4502
Fax: 903-454-1990
Our
keynote speaker, Dr. James Nicholson, joined the Marine
Corps after a year in college and served as a Marine infantryman in
George Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines. He carried a Browning automatic
rifle through five major campaigns in the mountains of North Korea and
saw intense close combat before he was wounded and evacuated. He returned
to college to study medicine after he was discharged because his childhood
hero was a doctor who had shown faith in him as a boy. After living
through his experiences with the Marines in Korea, he decided "it’s
really important to do the one thing you want to do." A hospital
staff member since 1960, he helped form a Hunt County med-ical district
in order to be able to build a regional hospital in Greenville that
currently incorporates some of the finest medical care and modern cancer
centers in northeast Texas. On multiple occasions he has served as Chief
of the Medical Staff and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice.
Nicholson continues his “country doctor” practice within
the hospital. Married since 1953, he and his wife Wanda have four children
and eight grandchildren.
Dr.
Archie McDonald will be speaking about “Boyhood Memories
of WWII”; he will also sing several songs from the era. For 45
years, Dr. McDonald has taught history at Stephen F. Austin State University;
he has also served as director of the East Texas Historical Association
and as editor of the Association’s Journal for 37 years. He is
a past president of the TX State Historical Association, past vice chair
of the TX Historical Commis-sion, and author/editor of more than 20
books on historical topics--and one book of humor titled Helpful Cooking
Hints for House-husbands of Uppity Women. Along with teaching, McDonald
currently serves Stephen F. Austin State University as the University/Community
liason. 
Friday
evening - Once again, “Chef” Frank Owens will concoct his
increasingly-world-famous chili for the culinary enjoyment
of all who partake. This is not the typical so-hot-you-can’t-breathe-after-eating-it-chili
of which Texans are so proud. And it is not pre-packaged--his chili
is home-made and might best be described as “Northern chili.”
After dinner, we will present the New Andrews Sisters
who have been singing together since 2003. They first got together to
lend their voices for a song or two in a 1940s radio show production
and have wowed their audiences with their tight harmonies and fun, crowd-pleasing
songs ever since. Some of their most requested numbers include “Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,”
“Bei Mir Bist Du Schon,” and “Sisters” with
“The Star Spangled Banner” as the conclusion to their 45
minute show. The New Andrews Sisters have performed in numerous venues
throughout their career and we are so excited that they will be performing
during Audie Murphy Days. Ticket prices are $10.00 for adults and $5.00
for children ages 5-12. The dinner will be served from 6-7pm and the
concert will begin at 7. 
The
Horse Detachment from Ft. Hood was established in 1972
when the First Cavalry Division Association voted to sponsor a Horse
Platoon and procured ten horses from the Army Pentathlon Team in San
Antonio, Texas. By the end of 1972, their herd had grown to 18 mounts,
and in 1973 they added two mules and an 1878 Escort Wagon to their inventory.
In the late 1970s, the Army recognized the Horse Platoon as a Special
Ceremonial Unit and took over financial oversight of the unit. Today
the Detachment is the only permanently-staffed and independently-funded
mounted cavalry unit on active duty in the Army. Renamed the Horse Cavalry
Detachment to better conform to historical precedent in 1986, it has
appeared in three Presidential Inaugural Parades, five Tournament of
Roses Parades, the 1984 World's Fair, and literally thousands of state
and local events. The Detachment is currently comprised of two commissioned
officers, 29 enlisted soldiers, and one civilian; and their stables
include 40 horses, nine mules, and one dog. The unit prides itself on
self-sufficiency and regularly sends its enlisted members to advanced
civilian-run school programs where they learn the skills 
needed
to become farriers, saddlemakers, and boot-makers for the Detachment.
Fans
of Golden Age television will remember Paul Picerni as Elliot Ness'
side-kick, "Lee Hobson", in the crime-busting series, The
Untouchables with Robert Stack. Movie fans might instantly associate
him with the horror hit, House of Wax, in which he played the romantic
lead -- in 3-D! These credits are just the tip of the iceberg in Picerni's
stage-screen-TV career, where he acted alongside stars on the level
of John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Audie Murphy, Burt Lancaster, Vincent Price,
Charles Bronson and his best friend Telly Savalas.
Funding
for this event is provided in part by the City of Greenville Hotel/Motel
Occupancy Tax Revenue and with a grant from Humanities Texas,
the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.