Page 54 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2026

54 | July 2026
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story by Lynn Lofton photo courtesy of Vernon Dedeaux
Vernon Dedeaux, 76, grew up with his dad in the Army and the family lived in different places. He vowed he wouldn’t follow the same career path. However, life has a way of changing things.
“I wasn’t doing well in college so I dropped out and took a job that was going nowhere,” he says. “I wanted to fly, but joining the Army National Guard at 27 I was the old man of the crew even though I was in good shape.”
Being full time at the Guard’s Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot in Gulfport gave him fulfillment as a helicopter mechanic. There he not only kept helicopters running but went along on the rides to make sure everything ran smoothly. Army helicopters from all over come to the ACRAD—which also supports Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands— for repair, and their mechanics and pilots also travel to other bases.
“I’ve been to Egypt, Kuwait and many places,” Dedeaux says. “I had a rude awakening one time when I left Gulfport in shorts and flew to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and we had to circle because there was snow on the ground.”
Dedeaux talks about Blackhawks, Chinooks, Bright Star and Apache helicopters like some people speak of automobiles. The work came naturally to him and he became a supervisor in a few years. After 34 years he retired as a Master Sergeant and feels he accomplished the tasks set out for him. At retirement he had 240 hours unused annual leave and a whole year of sick leave. His only regret is that he didn’t join at a younger age.
“I do recommend military service to young people where they can get discipline, learn skills and advance,” he says. “It won’t be ‘all about me’ and you won’t say ‘it’s not my job.’ You’ll have great habits when you re- enter civilian life.”
Dedeaux and his wife Jackie, who worked in youth services for the state, live in Saucier. Still disciplined, the former Master Sergeant goes to the base gym at 4:30 every morning.
“Tell ‘Em Lexi and Nick Sent Ya!”