Wilkes County Veterans History Project: Carl McCann

Carl McCann Veteran History

Roy Carl McCann was born on September 13, 1943, in Elkin, North Carolina.  His parents were Reverend John McCann and his wife, Faye Lyon McCann.  His father served as pastor in local Baptist Churches while working long hours at Chatham Manufacturing Company, Elkin’s well known blanket mill.  He still found time to tend the family farm and provide fresh food to the table.  His mother, once a beloved elementary school teacher, chose to stay home after Carl was born, pouring her heart into raising him and his sister.

After graduating from North Wilkes High School, Carl enrolled in NC State University.  However, he left school before completing his degree.  He went to work at the NC Department of Transportation in Raleigh.  Here he worked in the Roadway Design Department and began his love for highway work.  He planned to return and finish his college courses, but like many young men of his generation, his plans changed when he was drafted to serve in the US Army in 1966.  He and several other Wilkes County boys boarded a bus to Charlotte and then on to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  There their military journey and basic training began.

After basic training, Carl was assigned to Fort Monmouth New Jersey for seven months of Electronics training.  Following graduation, he was sent to Fort Bragg North Carolina to join the 327^th Signal company.  This company was sent as a unit to South Vietnam in June 1967.  Arriving in Vietnam, the company’s first task was building the company headquarters in Long Binh.  After construction of the barracks there, the soldiers of the 327^th were sent out in 10-man detachments to various locations in Vietnam to provide communications service for the US Army as well as the South Vietnamese Army.  Carl was assigned to Soc Trang, a small helicopter base just outside the small town of Soc Trang.

Although Carl and his team were kept busy operating and maintaining their communications site, and filling sandbags, they still found time to write letters home and look for other ways to serve.  One positive thing that has remained with Carl is being with his buddies when they carried extra food and clothing to a French run orphanage in Soc Trang.  Their parents sent them gifts of toys and clothes for the orphans.  Just before Christmas in 1967 Carl and his buddies gave a Christmas party to the orphans at the orphanage. The largest man in the team was chosen to wear a Santa Claus suit.  The people in Soc Trang really stared at Santa in a jeep.  The kids at the orphanage were initially scared since they had never seen Santa Claus. This all changed when the gifts and cakes were given out.  Two little four-year-old girls sang and danced for us in French, English, and Vietnamese.  One little girl put on a pair of shoes.  They were too small for her, but she would scream if someone tried to take them from her.  She had never had shoes before.  This really touched our hearts.

During his service time, Carl was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and Sharpshooter Metals for both the M-14 and M-16 rifles.

When his tour of duty ended in June 1968, Carl returned to Wilkes County to the great relief of his family.  He rejoined the highway department, where his job had been held for him.  While working part-time, he returned to NC State and obtained his BS degree in Civil Engineering.  Carl loved his work and the people he worked with in Division Eleven of the NCDOT.  After rising through the ranks, Carl retired as the Division Engineer of Division Eleven.  In retirement, he found joy in beekeeping, working in his church, and spending time with his family and loved ones.

Looking back on his journey, Carl often reminded others of the simple truth he lives by: “We owe a service to our country.”