Submitted by Les Carter

In the late 1950's my dad became friends with Colonel Bill Abernathy, a man of similar conservative Christian values and a genuinely kind person who had a knack for bringing out the best in those around him. This friendship lasted forty years and came to an end at the colonel's death in 1998, with my dad officiating his funeral at the Arlington National Cemetery.

While Colonel Abernathy had a powerful influence in the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of soldiers during his illustrious career, he especially helped to shape the views of one young First Lieutenant in his command in 1961. This young Lieutenant showed great promise and the Colonel was determined to teach him the value of treating the troops with kindness and dignity. The Lieutenant was in the position of an adjudant, meaning he handled personnel, promotions, assignments, discipline, and the like.

Colonel Abernathy believed that small acts of kindness were important, even toward lowly soldiers with little or no rank, so he asked the Lieutenant to do a rather unorthodox thing for a military unit. He informed the Lieutenant that he wanted him to set up a system of "Welcome Baby" letters, making sure that each soldier whose wife gave birth was to receive a personal letter congratulating the parents. A second letter would be sent to the infant, welcoming the tot into the battalion. The Lieutenant did not put much priority on this assignment, and when it was clear that he was dragging his feet, Colonel Abernathy called him in for a reprimand. His words were not harsh, but he told the Lieutenant that he was disappointed in him and he emphasized that the task must be done. It was important to troop morale. The lieutenant was very impressed that such a seemingly small task would be so important to his commanding officer, so he went immediately to work putting the plan into action.

Once the system was put into place, they started getting positive feedback. The soldiers were impressed by Colonel Abernathy's thoughtfulness, and the new mothers indicated how pleased they were to feel included in their husband's Army life. The Lieutenant was later to write that this simple assignment proved to be a valuable lesson to him. Make individuals feel important and part of something larger than themselves. It was a lesson that would never leave him, and that mindset became incorporated into his philosophy of leadership.

I suspect that before now you have never heard of Colonel Bill Abernathy, but you are probably familiar with the Lieutenant, Colin Powell, who rose to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now serves as our country's Secretary of State. General Powell was so touched by Colonel Abernathy's kindness that he included this incident in his autobiography, A Soldier's Life for Me.

When you live a life of kindness, you never know how far the influence of your actions will go.

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