Beyond Bricks And Mortar | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The authors of this post, Crystal Baity and Grace Haskin (sidebar title), contributors to ECU News Services.

Veteran service member, mason helps build site to honor military

    East Carolina University brick mason and U.S. Army veteran Ron Causey is proud to have helped build the Memorial Walk that honors service members.

    "Just being a veteran myself, to give back to other veterans, to me, it's the best thing," Causey said. "It was an honor to build it."

    Causey and ECU masons John Phillips, Al Williams, Mike Gentile and the late James Boyd laid the bricks and mortar for the Memorial Walk and Freedom Wall on the west side of Christenbury Memorial Gymnasium in 2011. It was the first space set aside to honor military service on campus in nearly six decades.

    "We did all this, the seat walls, all the pavers," Causey said pointing to the site of the annual Veterans Day ceremony at ECU.

    Originally from Farmville, Causey served 12 years in the Army from 1983 until 1995 and is active in the N.C. National Guard. He fought in the Gulf War, and returned to Iraq with the National Guard.

    He has been deployed twice in the eight years he has worked at ECU, the last about a year and a half ago to Egypt. "We were basically observing Egyptian and Israeli forces to make sure they complied with the peace treaty," he said.

    Before taking the job with ECU, he worked many years with his father, also a brick mason who is now semi-retired. His uncles are brick masons, too.

    "I've been doing this work since I've been old enough to tote a brick, roughly 30 years," Causey said. "I enjoy the art of it. Sometimes they give you an idea and you get to add in a little flair."

    Causey also works with tile, block, stone and glass. "Basically anything with mortar in it," he said. "I love my job. I love the people I work with. The guys I work with are all very creative and very talented. You couldn't ask for a better environment."

    Causey and his colleagues built the Student Memorial Garden, the retaining wall and step systems in front of Christenbury and revamped areas leading to McGinnis Theatre and Messick Theatre Arts Center. A Pirate football and baseball fan, Causey enjoyed building some brick-mounted benches at the ECU football practice field and, in the process, meeting Coach Ruffin McNeil.

    There have been so many projects on campus it's hard to remember them all, he said, but the Memorial Walk is his favorite.

    "This will be here for many years to come. It will be here when I'm gone," Causey said.

    The design complemented the relocation of the Victory Bell - a memorial to World War II and Korean War veterans - and a granite panel honoring veterans from each branch of the armed services.

    "The first year when we dedicated the site, the mason crew stood side by side on the sidewalk beside Christenbury gym. I'll never forget that sight," said Dr. Steve Duncan, assistant vice chancellor and director of military programs at ECU, who initiated the project. "They exuded pride in what they had done to recognize their veteran brothers and sisters over the years, and I feel honored to know that veterans like Ron Causey have left their print on this site for generations to come."

    Engraved pavers support Army and Air Force ROTC student scholarships. The first seven were put in place at the memorial's dedication during ECU's 2011 Founders Day celebration.

    With the addition of 58 this fall, a total of 178 pavers now recognize the contributions of service members or supporters of veteran organizations and national defense.

    "Interest has grown each year and I believe it is because this is a place of recognition and honor and very symbolic of our motto – To Serve," Duncan said.

    Len Farris of Andover, Massachusetts, donated 30 of the pavers this year for his 1987 Air Force ROTC graduating class and staff at ECU. A Charlotte native, Farris said he chose to attend ECU because of its Air Force ROTC program. He earned a bachelor's in business administration and spent eight years on active duty as a navigator flying around the world. He participated in more than 25 combat support missions in Operation Desert Storm.

    "I thought it would be an outstanding way to honor the men and women of our 1987 class and staff for their service and in turn to provide scholarship funding for a great program that meant so much to me and others," Farris said. Many in his class have participated in the donation, he said.

    Causey expects the university will have to expand beyond the current site to add more brick pavers. "We always say, if they can draw it, we can do it."


Above Left: ECU brick mason Ron Causey, a U.S. Army veteran, helped to lay the bricks honoring military service in the ECU Memorial Walk. Above Right: Pavers on the ECU Memorial Walk honor individuals who have served in the military.


Daren Roy helps sort flags for placement in the inaugural Veterans Field of Honor sponsored by the Pirates Veteran Organization to honor military service. (Photos by Cliff Hollis)