IT’S THE year 2005. American families across the nation have spent the entire morning filling up coolers with ice and an assortment of drinks. There is a glorious spread of unhealthy snack foods on the kitchen counter, with no charcuterie board within view. In its place by the outlet is a beat-up vintage crockpot with everyone’s favorite cheesy Rotel dip bubbling inside. The common areas in the house are clean, and the television is on in anticipation of the year’s largest sporting event, the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles are the two lone survivors, and momentarily they will battle it out for a national championship title.
A commercial begins. On the screen, millions of people silently watch as American troops exit an airplane and make their way through the terminal. They are in full uniform and are carrying with them large rucksacks on their back. Many of these brave men and women are coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan. Beginning with one faint clap, the silence broke and unrestrained emotion burst forth. The soft clap grows steadily with power until everyone in the airport stands on their feet, clapping and erupting into praise.
No words were spoken in the 60-second commercial. Yet, the commercial said distinctly everything Americans at home had been hoping to communicate to our military men and women. This Anheuser Busch commercial, which was later nominated for an Emmy award for an outstanding commercial, was cast by one of our very own, Beverly Lee. Lee is a retired colonel with the U.S. Air Force. During the filming of this commercial, Lee was working as aPublic Affairs Officer. Her role, in essence, was to put on events, talk to the media, and tell the stories of brave men and women who have served or were serving.
Lee is now a retired colonel of the U.S. Air Force. She shared about this particular commercial, “I was on-site at Los Angeles International Airport during the filming of the commercial. The advertising agency and Anheuser Busch representatives were stumped. They asked, ‘How do we end this? Politically, we can’t really say if we are for the war or against the war.’” What was supposed to be a simple commercial to honor American troops was slowly becoming more complicated than anyone working on it initially imagined. Lee, who was sitting in full uniform, was among the film crew and directors as they all looked over some of the video footage. Lee spoke up, “Hey, I am a mom. The first thing you teach your children is to say “thank you.” That is all these kids want. They just want to be thanked.” Her suggestion was simple yet incredibly moving and the perfect solution. The touching commercial ended with two words appearing on the screen, “THANK YOU.”
Being a part of a production crew for a Super Bowl commercial is a remarkable experience. However, if you glance at Lee’s extensive resume and consider all that she has been involved in or accomplished, you could see where she might consider working on the commercial as “just another day at the office.” With a resume reading more like a chapter book, it’s no surprise Lee’s passion in life is to “take action” and encourage others to do the same.
Growing up in Tullahoma, Lee got her ambition honestly. She shared, “It was a very, very vibrant time out at Arnold Air Force Base, because of the space race. They built the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) when I was a young girl. When I was 13 or 14, I got to meet Neil Armstrong. A lot was happening. Being around UTSI and the base drove my desire and need to contribute and be a part of something bigger than myself.” To say the least, Lee’s young heart and mind were inspired by all the amazing people in this community who were very dedicated to our nation’s freedom and liberty. Her father and five uncles are included in this group of people who had served in the military and inspired her.
Thus, Lee began her military career going through Reserve Officers Training Corps at Memphis State University. After college Lee was commissioned into the Airforce as a Second Lieutenant where she started her military career as an intelligence officer. She expressed, “The role gave me a lot of training and background knowledge on who the threats were and what our own capabilities were. I enjoyed briefing and debriefing pilots, playing a small part in the mission of maintaining air superiority. In this role, I grasped what the Airforce was all about.” Lee shared that she had a lot of special assignments as an intelligence officer.
As Lee got off of active duty after five years and went into the reserves, she transferred to become a public affairs officer, following in her father’s footsteps. Her father was a public affairs officer at Arnold Airforce Base for over 30 years. After having so many friends and family members serve in the Vietnam War, she decided she wanted to tell the stories of all the brave men and women she rubbed shoulders with.
“I was director of public affairs at Eglin Air Force Base during Desert Storm. After September 11, I deployed to U.S. Forces Japan and worked for Major General Frank Bolden, an astronaut, Marine, and the 12th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Obama administration. Later, I was reassigned to the Pentagon at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom where we were tasked to embed over 800 national and international media with our units… the world watched everything unfold.”
A quote from C.S. Lewis resided at the forefront of Lee’s memory many times during her time working in public affairs. The quote reads, “Since it is so likely that [children] will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise, you are making their destiny not brighter, but darker.” Lee used these words as a guidepost. She wanted “to tell people’s stories so that others would know that they, too, have the courage to do what it takes to make our nation great and free. No more succumbing to the weakness in us, but becoming stronger.”
It’s fitting for Lee to have been in public affairs because Lee has bolstered everyone else at every opportunity she had, to speak of herself. Lee shared that a staggering 5,000 veterans live in our very community. Warriors like Thomas Guinn, who will be 103 years old in June. “Thomas stormed the beaches at Normandy. He was in the Korean War. He was injured about 20 times, captured twice, and escaped from captivity from the Koreans twice.” After a short pause, Lee said, “Those are the true heroes.”
While Lee would like to shy away from any praise or glory, we see her (as well as each and every person who has served this great country) with a long flowing cape adorning their backside and blowing into the wind. You are not only our heroes, but our superheroes.
