Former Green Beret driving force honoring N.C. vets

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Osborne "Obie" Oakley is more than just a volunteer. The former Green Beret thinks really big when helping out military brethren.

Twenty years ago, he and two friends raised the money to build the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Charlotte's uptown Thompson Park. He's chaired boards and he's been a prime force behind the Carolinas Freedom Foundation, which puts on the yearly Veterans Day parade.

America's Incredible Pizza Co. and CJM Racing are honoring Incredible Heroes throughout the 2009 Nationwide Series season. If you know of an Incredible Hero, let us know.

• E-mail a nomination
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In 1999, after Hurricane Floyd swamped Eastern North Carolina, his "band of brothers" from the N.C. National Guard's 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) helped with recovery efforts. They did the same in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina rolled through in 2005.

And last year, the brothers raised money to send supplies to Afghan civilians.

In April of 2009, the Army honored Oakley for all of his tireless work with the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, its highest civilian award. He received the award at a ceremony at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte.

After graduating from now-closed Central High, Oakley chose The Citadel for college. The first of his family to attend college, the decision to go to The Citadel was for nothing more than to find some discipline. He found it there and afterward in the regular Army, serving in the 3rd Armored Division from 1958 to 1962 in Cold War Germany.

Oakley, now 72, returned to Charlotte at the end of 1962 to help his father with the family printing business, Interstate Graphics. It was at that time that he immediately got involved in the community. He joined the 20th Special Forces (Green Berets). He chaired the Community School of the Arts and the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport Authority.

In the late-1980s, he and two Charlotte friends, Roddey Dowd Sr. and Tommy Norman (both Green Beret captains who served together in the Guard) decided Mecklenburg needed to honor its 101 natives who were among the 58,000 to lose their lives in Vietnam. They raised $356,000 and built the memorial between Third and Fourth streets.

Last year, one of the "band of brothers" had a son serving in the same 20th Special Forces unit in Afghanistan. The son wanted supplies to win the trust of civilians.

The brothers were going to round up a few school supplies. Oakley got them thinking bigger. They ended up shipping 4,000 pounds of blankets, clothing and school supplies to the Afghan people.

"A lot of people say they support the troops, but only put a bumper sticker on their car," Oakley said. "The troops are doing difficult work and need our active help. They need to know we appreciate them."

Due to a prior commitment, Oakley will be unable to attend the Carquest Auto Parts 300 as a guest of the America's Incredible Pizza Company and CJM Racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend. The Incredible Hero will be honored with a plaque and some race apparel at a later date.

The Incredible Heroes campaign will run throughout the 2009 Nationwide Series season. If you know of an Incredible Hero and would like to nominate him or her please e-mail: heroes@incrediblepizza.com for consideration or check out www.incrediblepizza.com/contests/incredibleheroes.