By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
Caldwell County’s Dale Faughn died Sunday, April 21, at age 98. And for truth, Kentuckians could well have used more time with this amazing man. How does one characterize him?
You might call Dale “Mr. Persistence,” maybe “The Man Who Wouldn’t be Ordinary” … or simply a man who loved to educate the young, provide sustaining blood for others, write poems of tribute, and show respect for those who fight to keep America free.
There were several things that connected me to Dale immediately when I decided to include him in my second volume of the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes book series back in 2010. Like me, he was a public-school teacher, and he was a writer (actually a poet). He also was an exercise enthusiast—a bit like me–and admirably, he was known to get up at the crack of dawn or earlier to keep up his running regimen. He also was, literally, a nationally renowned blood donor (unlike me).
One of the first things Dale mentioned in our interview at his home in the rural community of Fredonia was his mantra: “Don’t be ordinary.” He wasn’t. He had a lifetime of “unordinariness,” and in a good way.
After he graduated from Lyon County’s Eddyville High School in 1944, he was inducted at Louisville into the U.S. Marine Corps and sent to boot camp at San Diego. While there, he gained recognition as an expert rifleman. In 1944, his division was sent to Iwo Jima. After departing his service there, Dale was inspired to write a couple of poems about the experience. With a vivid remembrance of the iconic, eight-square-miles island in a time of war, he years later penned the poem, “I Met the Flag at Iwo Jima.” It became probably the most noted of the likely thousands he wrote. A friend of the family will be publishing a collection of them.
“Don’t be ordinary,” he always said.
After the war, Dale was part of the unit sent to Kyushu, Japan, as occupation forces. About a month later, the group was split, and he was assigned to the Pelau Islands for about seven months. And after being shipped via Guam and then Hawaii to the United States, Dale was discharged on July27, 1946.
Soon after he entered Murray State College (now University) in preparation for the teaching profession, and in 1949, graduated with a Bachelor of Science. In subsequent years Dale gained two post-graduate degrees. Also in 1949, Dale married Murray State classmate Virginia Chandler. She became his wife of 71 years.
In 1950, Dale began teaching in the Caldwell County School System, primarily as a science teacher, and he and Virginia bought a farm on Good Springs Road, in Fredonia. The couple would live there the rest of their lives, and it’s where I interviewed Dale in the summer of 2009 while he was still an active teacher. They raised seven children who blessed them with a multitude of grandchildren.
Dale retired from teaching in 2011 after 61 years. He had been elected to the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Kentucky Teachers Hall of Fame in 2009, along with numerous other recognitions. During his career, he attended summer educational programs at 26 colleges and universities.
All of his adult life, he wrote poems—enough of them and with enough skill to be become, in 1986, the co-winner of the Kentucky Poet Laureate. He wrote at least ten poetry book collections and gave poetry recitals. He wrote poems to groups and individuals. I have in my files a prized copy of a poem Dale wrote to me.
“Don’t be ordinary,” he always said.
Though I didn’t know Dale’s bodyweight, I always noticed how thin he was, likely because of his focus on eating nutritiously and exercising. But one thing is for sure, he had plenty of blood in that small frame, and he was generous in donating to others. In 2016, he was recognized as the Guinness World Record oldest regular blood donor. At his death, he had given more than 30 gallons of the precious blood source to the Madisonville Regional Medical Center Blood Bank. He continually advocated for others to be blessed by doing likewise. And oh, yes, he was inducted into two blood donor halls of fame.
“Don’t be ordinary,” he always said.
And there are more interesting tidbits in the dynamic life of Dale Faughn:
• appeared for five weeks on the CBS TV program, “The $64,000 Challenge.”
• ran and race-walked competitively for over 30 years.
• traveled to all 50 states.
• a devout Christian, was a charter member of the Fredonia Baptist Church and remained active.
• gained a legion of friends and admirers over his lifetime, not the least of whom are formers students. That’s apparent from the tributes paid him on social media and from what people have told me who knew Dale.
Sandy Hart, a noted veterans’ advocate from Wickliffe, Kentucky, knew Dale well from the multitude of times she was around him in veterans’ advocacy events. She figures his dedication to teaching was partly due to “survivor’s remorse” from his time at Iwo Jima. “He felt that he must have survived for a reason,” said Sandy. “He remembered how a teacher had affected his life, so he chose to try his best to make a difference in young people’s minds.” That said, Dale, was a warrior in life as he was as a U.S. Marine and was also very active in veterans’ affairs. As always, he inspired as an unapologetic patriot.
At his funeral at the First Baptist Church, Fredonia, on April 27, the place was packed with at least ten speakers paying tribute. There were many grateful former students present from his 61 years in the classroom. Dale leaves us with a legacy that might justifiably be called “one for the ages.”
That’s what happens when one truly aspires to not be ordinary. May it be a life model that entices all of us.
