3/8/07

Manning High alums hang tight together in Kuwait
By Cathy Gilbert

Submitted Photo
Three Manning HIgh School graduates are serving together with the Third U.S. Army in Kuwait. They are Sgt. First Class Alton Holliday (Class of ‘92), Sgt. First Class Johnny Dennis (Class of of ‘89) and Sgt. Major Marion Lemon (Class of ‘77).

They may be from three different graduating classes, but for three Manning High School graduates serving together in Kuwait, it is the next best thing to home.
All three are assigned to the Third U.S. Army Headquarters in Atlanta and are currently deployed to Kuwait.

Sgt. Major Marion Lemon is a graduate of Manning High’s Class of 1997.

As the Senior Chaplain Assistant, he is responsible for the supervision of 525 chaplain assistants currently serving in the Middle East. Chaplain assistants assist the Chaplain in providing or performing ministry on the battlefield for soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors and civilians.
Lemon is the son of Carrie Lee Lemon Briggs of Manning and he is married to the former Diane Carroway, also of Manning.

Sgt. First Class Johnny Dennis is a graduate of the class of 1989.

He is an information systems analyst and serves as an information assurance network officer, responsible for network security system implementation for the Third Army in Kuwait.

He is the son of Hattie Dennis and is married to the former Esma Oliver of Summerton. Dennis is currently pursuing a degree in information technology.

The youngest soldier in the Monarch Trio is Sgt. First Class Alton Holliday, a 1992 Manning High graduate.

Holliday is a petroleum supply specialist and is the non-commissioned officer in charge of the petroleum and water branch. He is the son of Alton Lamont “AJ” Holliday II and Catherine Holiday of Manning. Holliday is currently pursuing a degree in psychology.

While Kuwait is hardly Manning, the camaraderie of being with two other Manning Monarchs surely brings these three brave and busy soldiers a little closer to home.