By PHOEBE DONALD ROBINSON / Community Columnist

“The Army changed my life,” said veteran Ronald “Ron” Dell Haywood of Montevallo. “I quit school at 17 and joined the U.S. Army following in my father and brother’s footsteps. My father fought in World War II and my brother joined at age 16 and served in Korea. I was a problem child and the Army saved me. I had a temper and the military took that out of me.”

Haygood served in Korea for 13 months five miles from the DMZ. He was a turret mechanic and got out of the military in 1966, a lifelong regret.

“I feel like I should have stayed in and done my full service,” said Haygood. “All my life I have regretted that, and now I try to do what I can for our vets and their kids. I’m not real educated, but I go where I can and give what I can. There is so much we can do for our veterans and community. Lots of kids died for our flag and very little means a lot to them. I just do what I can.”

Haygood has spent years helping with the American Legion, “charted in 1919 as a patriotic veterans’ organization” (see Legion.org).

The legion is involved with Boy Scouts, youth baseball program, scholarships and protecting our flag from desecration.

It is involved with Girls and Boys State, oratorical contests, junior shooting program, support of POW and MIA’s and all kinds of efforts on behalf of veterans.

Haygood is a member of American Legion Post 113 and helped found Post 255 in Fultondale in 1991 and Post 911 in Hoover in 1994.

For the last 21 years he has been the finance officer at Post 255.

He is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam War Veterans, Sons of American Legion, Blue Star Salute Foundation Inc. and Support Committee of Alabama National Cemetery.

He is a member of the American Legion Internal Affairs Committee, chairman of the American Legion 21^st District Finance Committee of the 21^st and state finance committee.

He has been state commander of the Sons of the American Legion, and district commander of Jefferson County.

“We owe the vets everything,” he said.