‘Sonny’ Berry a veteran, Fort Polk advocate
Published 8:02 am Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Leesville resident T.L. “Sonny” Berry, 82, is a veteran, an advocate whose relationships brought quality of life improvements to Fort Polk and a hometown hero.
His two years in the Army with the 25th infantry division, 89th tank battalion were exceptional, earning him a Bronze Star for his valor during the Korean War in 1952. Berry disregarded his own safety and ran into an area with heavy fire to rescue wounded fellow soldiers and managed to come away unscathed.
But Berry is perhaps better known for his exceptional work after he was honorably discharged. He came back to Leesville and joined various businesses and government organizations, developing ties that would eventually proved useful to Fort Polk. For 24 years he served as Civilian Aide to the
Secretary of the Army for Louisiana. He also served as the Chairman for the Governor’s Military Advisory Commission for the State of Louisiana for five years and was twice president of the Greater Vernon Parish Chamber of Commerce.
His efforts lead to better quality of life for soldiers and their families, a cause that Berry said, has been near and dear to his heart since he saw primarily negative depictions of Fort Polk by the media during Vietnam. He said although he helped to orchestrate improvements throughout his decades of advocacy for the military installation, his efforts would be worthless without community support.
“I’m very proud of that,” Berry said. “We changed that image around 100 percent. We built schools; we built roads; people gave up their homes where they had been living for generations to help fulfill the Army’s needs.”
Berry was instrumental in establishing Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital, an on-post elementary school, an education center and the Central Louisiana Veterans’ Cemetery.
He also helped to improve roads to the Morale Welfare and Recreation center; secure upgrades to the post logistics building and organized trips to other installations to welcome and educate incoming soldiers and their families about local resources.
For nearly 45 years he has been a member of the Association of the United States Army, serving multiple terms as president in various regions. In 1992 while under Berry’s leadership, the AUSA named the Leonidas Polk Chapter the top chapter in the association.
It is a passion for military families, Berry said, that motivated him to help and advocate over the years.
“I didn’t get paid a nickel,” he said. “I did it because I wanted to make Fort Polk a better place for soldiers and their families.”
