Leroy Everett receives tribute

The city of Atlantic Beach paid tribute to Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Everett, the city’s only veteran to be killed in the Vietnam War, by dedicating the roadway into Dutton Island Preserve – where he and his childhood friends would fish, hunt, swim and play – to him.
A member of the 101st Airborne Division, Everett was killed Dec. 19, 1967, when the helicopter he and nine other soldiers were in crashed during a combat assault training mission. All soldiers onboard were lost. This was nine days after Everett's 25th birthday, 15 days into his second tour in Vietnam and four days after he sent his last letter home to his sisters.
Nearly 250 veterans, local citizens, family members, childhood friends, Douglas Anderson #107 alumni, former classmates and teachers, and government officials packed Dutton Island Preserve for Leroy Everett Day, Feb. 15. All had come to hear speeches and bear witness to the roadway dedication and unveiling of the newly-erected sign memorializing Everett by designating a nearly mile-long stretch into Dutton Island Road as the "US Army SFC Leroy Everett Memorial Parkway."
Leroy Everett Jr. was only 2 years old when his father was killed. Everett Jr. said he learned about his dad from his grandmother and mother.
"They would tell me how much he loved me,” he said. "My father is my hero." 
Leroy Everett Jr. traveled from Clarksville, Tenn., to take part in the unveiling of his dad's new sign.
Lenny Jevic, Beaches Veterans Memorial Park historian, spearheaded the effort to honor Everett.
“All gave some, some gave all, Leroy Everett gave all, and we will never forget his sacrifice for our country,” Jevic said.