Kyle Roberson was honored by the American Legion for 60 years of continuous service at an Older Americans Month program in Brundidge Thursday.

Randy Ross, Pike County veterans’ affairs officer, presented a certificate of service to Roberson and expressed appreciation to him on behalf of the American Legion Post 145.

“You have been a dedicated member of the American Legion for 60 years,” Ross said.

“Not many members the American Legion have that distinction. We congratulate you on your dedicated allegiance to the ideals of the American Legion.”

Roberson, of Brundidge, served in the Air Corps during World War II for three-plus years.

“Uncle Sam wanted me,” he said, with a smile. “At least he thought he did.”

Roberson was trained as a mechanic and was an instructor who trained soldiers, a different group every day at Smyrna Air Force Base in Tennessee.

“I served during World War II but I never left the adjoining states of Alabama,” Roberson said. “I’ve always been patriotic and I’m proud of my service.”

Roberson, who was originally from Mount Hope in northwest Alabama, attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) and received a degree in agriculture.

“I grew up on a farm but I really fell in love with agriculture and teaching when I saw the benefits,” he said, laughing. “My agriculture teacher had a car and a paycheck and that was mighty impressive to me.”

After graduating from college, Roberson said he was fortunate to be offered the position of agriculture teacher at the high school in Brundidge.

“The superintendent called me the Monday before Thanksgiving and offered me the job,” he said. “I was proud to get that call.”

Roberson taught agriculture for two years before he got greetings from Uncle Sam.

After I was discharged, I came back to school and taught for 40 years,” he said. “In the early years, I taught farm boys about field crops, horticulture and livestock.”

Over the four decades that Roberson taught agriculture, the “field” changed.

“I taught agriculture, then agribusiness and then we moved into the field of technology,” he said. “Times changed, some for the better, some not.

“In a lot of ways things were better back years ago. During the Depression, nobody had anything much. Today, people have too much and don’t know what to do with it. Times were hard back then but they were good.”

At age 95, Roberson said that he has had a good life. He worked hard and it didn’t hurt him at all.

“It probably did me a lot of good,” he said, with a smile.