Rusty Lens

Like most of you my age, I've been there, done that & have the T-shirt. For 40 years of my life I was involved with the U.S. Army. First I was an enlisted man, then an NCO & later an officer. I retired after 20 plus years & thought that was the end of my association with the Army. A few years later I fell into a job at The (Then) Tank, Automotive Command in Warren, MI.(TACOM) as a civilian photographer. Over the course of the next twenty years I took pics of almost everything military you can think off.

One day I was ask to take a two to three hour overtime job at the nearby Tank Manufacturing Plant to photograph a VIP on a fact finding tour. No one knew who the VIP was. I was happy to get the overtime, grabbed my camera gear, lots of film & off I went. When I got there I found out the VIP was General Colin Powell who was just appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I have never been as impressed by one man in my life as I was by him in that two hours. He knew more about the process of making the M1 Tank than the plant execs. He treated everyone as an equal, never talked down the the employees, & asked intelligent to the point questions. Most VIP tours I covered were just photo ops & used to enhance the VIP's resume. This guy was all business. At the end he took enough time to thank me for being there. This man was a class act all the way.

copladocus

I was disappointed that he never ran for president. I would have voted for him regardless of his party affiliation. He was just that good as a leader. I can also completely agree with his reasons for not running, he didn't want to subject his family to the kind of indignities candidates and their families must endure. Gotta respect that.

CameraLady56

Thank you for sharing your memorable experience

srt101fan

Yes, class act. We need more like him. Thanks for sharing.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

When he was a Major General at the White House in the early 1980s his daughter used to baby sit for us. We had met through our next door neighbor whose daughter was a friend of his daughter. When I went to pick her up one night, he came out and had me raise the hood of my Volvo wagon. He loved Volvos and had never seen the diesel (actually powered by a VW truck engine). In all our encounters he was a "real" person, open and friendly.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I totally agree. I would have voted for him. I admired him as both a military leader and as just seeming to be a humble and respective individual. I never thought of him as being egotistical in any way. We need more leaders like him.

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

That's a great view into the real person and not the manufactured and manipulated you see with so many. Thanks for sharing your story. I, too, would have voted for him.

Dodie

ggenova64

ggenova64

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

TanglewodFarmer Loc: NW.Ar.

He.made me proud to be an American.

PaulBrit Loc: Merlin, Southern Oregon

‘Rusty Lens’ that is a highly personal memory of the General. Thank you! Colin Powell’s reputation spread well beyond the shores of America and in England he was seen as a great person.

Walkabout08

A great man, a true patriot and someone who embodied what America is when at its best. We will miss you General Powell.

Michael1079 Loc: Indiana

Agree; I have often thought the same thing

Charles Whittier

RIP.

trinhqthuan Loc: gaithersburg

From today AP

'...Nonetheless, Powell’s biggest legacy at the State Department may be bureaucratic rather than diplomatic. A natural tinkerer who loved to collect and repair old Volvos and was a fan of the then-new Chrysler PT Cruiser, Powell pushed to bring the department’s antiquated computer and communications systems into the age of email and interoperability....'


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