Legionnaire, Boys State Alum inducted into ASU Hall of Heroes
(By Post Commander Burrell Parmer) — Legionnaire Jerry Cheatom, a member of Fred Brock American Legion Post No. 828 and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, was one of three veterans who were inducted into Arkansas State University’s (ASU) Department of Military Science Hall of Heroes during an induction ceremony held at the Cooper Alumni Center.
Following the ceremony, placards were hung in the Hall of Heroes located in the Lt. Col. Frederick C. Turner Jr. Military Science Building by the inductees with the honorees receiving recognition during halftime activities of the A-State “Heroes” football game vs. University of Louisiana-Monroe at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Joining Cheatom, an Arkansas Boy State alum, were Army Capt. Albert Martin of Austin, Texas, and retired Army Col. Robert A. Barker of Harrisburg, Ark. All three are alumni of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in the A-State Department of Military Science.
Cheatom is a native of El Dorado, Ark. In 1976, upon graduation from ASU with a degree in printing technology, he was commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer.
He served an additional 22 years in uniform with JROTC as the senior Army instructor at Theodore Roosevelt and Sam Houston High Schools in San Antonio, and as director of Army Instruction for San Antonio Independent School District, where he continues service today.
A member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers Association, Cheatom concurrently serves as a senior counselor for Texas American Legion Boys State and is a member of the Alamo Area, Texas, and National Alliances of Black School Educators. In essence, Cheatom transformed 21 years of military experience into 27 years and counting of youth mentorship.
