News

CELEBRATE SENIORS: Pooch Pace honors flag, veterans

Pooch Pace commands the Honor Guard at the opening of the Veterans Hall at the Henderson County Human Services Building.

By Bill Moss, Published: May 3, 2013

The tenor bark of Rufus "Pooch" Pace is as much a part of patriotic tradition in Hendersonville as the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.

"Forward, march. Colors, halt. Right, face. Present, colors." A Henderson County native, Pace, 86, is a retired heating and air conditioning mechanic who is better known as a familiar face, and distinctive voice, of the Henderson County Honor Guard. He joined the Army in 1945, served in the occupying force in Japan, got out and was recalled for service during the Korean War in 1951. He's been calling the colors since 1965. Counting funerals and events at schools and churches, he estimates he's done 5,000 services. He was selected to represent Henderson County in the North Carolina Veterans Park in Fayetteville on the Fourth of July in 2011. He has a full head of white hair — "one white for every happy night," he says — and he does not seem to slow down. In cold rain and blazing heat, he stands erect, snaps a crisp salute to the American flag and honors veterans. Old soldiers never die; they just fade away. Except this old soldier does neither. "I don't have time to get old," he says.