For Less Carroll, being commander of American Legion Post 29 is not just about serving veterans, but serving the community.
Carroll, who assumed command of Siloam Springs' American Legion Post 29 on July 1, believes that veterans serving the community will go a long way in ensuring good relations with the citizens of the town.
"One of the ways you help veterans is to help the community that you are in," Carroll said. "If the community they live in is not receptive to veterans, it's not a good situation."
For Carroll serving is nothing new. He has been serving communities for a large portion of his life in different capacities.
Early years
Carroll was born in 1952 during the transition from the old downtown hospital to the hospital's former location on East Jefferson Street, he said.
He spent most of his formative years in Kansas, Okla., graduating from high school there in 1970, Carroll said.
In high school, Carroll said he was not a great student when it came to English and other mainstream courses but learned carpentry, which he excelled at.
"So it got me through school, it taught me a trade, and I took that trade with me everywhere I went," Carroll said.
After high school, Carroll worked for a few years at Plus Poultry, which was later purchased by Simmons Foods, before being drafted in 1972, Carroll said.
In the Army
Carroll was drafted and went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for basic training and Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland for Advanced Individual Training as an artillery repairman, he said.
Carroll was the Top Active Army student in his class and after training, he stayed on as an instructor fulfilling his obligation and rising to the rank of specialist, he said.
In September of 1974, Carroll was discharged from active duty, he said. Carroll went to work at Southern Millwork and served a year in the Oklahoma National Guard, he said.
After the first hitch
In 1976, Carroll moved to Kansas City, Mo., and worked for a construction company. During his time in Kansas City, Carroll attended Calvary Bible College. The school initially let him in on academic probation, but the next year Carroll, made the Dean's Honor Roll.
While he was at Calvary Bible College Carroll realized that he had Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder, he said.
"I learned how to cope with both of them while I was there in college, and I was able to overcome a lot of my shortcomings," Carroll said. "A lot of it was just slowing down and taking my time."
During his time in college he continued to work construction, Carroll said. Carroll said he did not finish college, but instead formed his own construction company where he worked numerous projects.
In 1982, Carroll moved back to Fayetteville and worked for Hecathorn Construction. One of his main projects was working on the Shiloh Education Center and the Lewis Brothers building, which became the home for the Bank of Fayetteville, he said.
Returning to duty
A year later, Carroll re-enlisted in the Arkansas National Guard. where he signed up for Officer Candidacy School.
After receiving his commission in April of 1984, Carroll was assigned to the 39th Infantry Brigade, First Detachment, Company Charlie in Dardanelle, which is close to Russellville.
Carroll served as an ordinance officer, detachment commander, shop officer and executive officer where he supervised all the mechanics, he said.
"We had a repairman for everything from a typewriter to anything that didn't fly," Carroll said. "If it didn't have wings and didn't get off the ground, we did it."
During this time, Carroll was first introduced to computers. Learning about the potential of computers, Carroll studied them and parlayed that into a successful career in the civilian world in conjunction with his National Guard career.
Working for Superior Industries in his civilian career, Carroll worked his way up to run the precision lab during his 25-year career there, he said.
Carroll served as an officer for 11 years before resigning his commission because he was up for a promotion and if he didn't pass the promotion board he would be discharged, Carroll said.
Rather than take the chance of an involuntary discharge, Carroll re-enlisted and by the time he switched to inactive status in 1999, Carroll had attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, he said.
Carroll completely retired from the military in 2012, he said. When his full retirement kicked in, Carroll was discharged at the highest rank he attained, which was captain, he said.
American Legion
Shortly after resigning his commission, Carroll discovered the American Legion, Carroll said. The American Legion has been a blessing, because he was able to have veteran friends who understood what it was to be a veteran, he said.
When Carroll retired from the guard and went into inactive status, he moved to Watts, Okla., to care for his father-in-law who has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and became involved with Post 29 in Siloam Springs.
Carroll previously served as commander for two terms at the legion from July of 2015 to June of 2017, he said.
For his latest turn as commander, Carroll said he wants to help veterans by helping the community, he said.
One of the ways, Carroll is going to do this is by donating part of the funds needed to build the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) fishing pier the city plans to build at City Lake.
Carroll declined to say how much the American Legion will donate because he did not want to upstage the city, he said.
"I can tell you that we have committed money for that project," Carroll said. "That's part of being supportive of the community."
Other projects include a pancake and sausage silent auction, which will be held on the first Saturday in October, Carroll said. Other events will include the Veterans Day parade which will be held Nov. 6 and the annual Veterans Day program Nov. 11, Carroll said.
He also hopes to have a Christmas program this year, which will be by invitation only because of the limited space of the community building. Carroll also plans to hold the Four Chaplains program in February and wants to hold other events as well, he said.
Another project, Carroll wants to hold is an oratorical contest. Carroll said they haven't been too successful in the past because there are too many activities to hold the attention of kids.
However, Carroll did reference Ginger MacFarlan who won second place at the 2007 American Legion Oratorical Contest and First Place at the Sons of the American Revolution Oratorical Contest, which netted her $3,000 for college, according to an article in the Herald-Leader on July 20, 2008.
Still Carroll hopes to get other projects off the ground during his year in command, he said.
"There's a lot to do in the community and I am just glad to be part of it," Carroll said.