Franklin County honors fallen soldier, native son with Operation Never Forget bust

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  On April 12, 2007, Sgt. Alex Stephens, an Army field medic assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., died from wounds received during combat in Afghanistan.

On April 14, 2012, a coalition of individuals and organizations came together to honor Sergeant Stephens by dedicating an Operation Never Forget (ONF) bust to him at the Franklin County courthouse and by renaming a bridge in his memory.

"Alex Stephens was a young man who used to visit our house occasionally in high school," said Mike Cunningham, Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) human resources manager. "I have four daughters and he would come by the house with some of his friends and just hang out. I remember the young man, very witty, fun loving and very personable."

Cunningham said as time went by and other fallen Franklin County veterans were recognized, he felt Sergeant Stephens should get the same honor.

"I was struck when I heard of his death," he said. "So many people didn't pick up on that it was Alex Stephens who had gone to North Junior High School and graduated from Franklin County High School, but I knew it was him. I became very saddened by the event."

Cunningham then approached Dave Uselton, ATA's material control manager for logistics, to see about having a bust made of Stephens.

Uselton, who served in the Marine Corps and Army National Guard and is a ONF co-founder, started the fund-raising for the bust.

"The [artist] starts from scratch," Uselton said. "They start with just clay and mold that from a series of one-dimensional photos. It's a long, drawn-out process; it might take an artist a month, eight hours a day to do that."

The total process takes approximately four to six weeks, from crafting the bust before it gets approval from family members or a guardian for casting in bronze.

"This [bust] is a way for the community to get involved with giving something back to the family," Uselton said. "Ninety-four percent of every dollar goes toward the bust itself."

Cunningham, Uselton, who is the ONF Southeast Region program director, and Kyle Grover, a long-time friend and family representative, teamed up with ONF to commission the bronze bust to memorialize the 32-year-old Franklin County native.

Before long, Aerospace Testing Alliance, U.S. Marine Corps League-Detachment 1128, Jim Maloney and Carol Hathorne of Jim's Sunset Bar and Grill, the Franklin County A.M. Rotary Club, the Franklin County Republican Leadership Committee, Marcia and Rich Houchens, Carl Nystrom and Jerry Anderson had raised more than $6,000 to pay for the bronze bust.

Sergeant Stephens is survived by his wife and daughter, along with his father and two sisters. He was a 1996 graduate of Franklin County High School and later graduated from UT-Chattanooga.

Franklin County Mayor Richard Stewart and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Taylor hosted the dedication ceremony on the courthouse lawn. State Sen. Eric Stewart gained legislative approval to name the Dry Creek Bridge in honor of Sgt. Stephens.

The bust will eventually be permanently displayed on the courthouse lawn alongside the busts of Pfc. Nathan Clemons, USMC and Lance Cpl. Gregory Posey, USMC, previously memorialized. Nathan's father, David Clemons, and Gregory's father, Steve Posey, also are employed by ATA.