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Here is a 1965 report from my hometown newspaper which summed up my only notable military operation:

“Army 1st Lt. David G Martin Jr, 25, whose parents live at 408 N. Main St., Davidson N.C., marched in the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington DC. Jan. 20, as a member of the 6th Special Forces group from Fort Bragg. Wearing the distinctive Green Beret of the Special Forces, Lieutenant Martin was one of more than 200 soldiers who represented the John F. Kennedy Center for Special Warfare in the parade.
“Special Forces were created by the Department of the Army to provide, in time of war, a unit through which the Army can develop and employ guerrilla warfare forces against the enemy in support of military operations. He entered the army in November 1962. Martin was graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville in 1958 and from Davidson College in 1962.”
A similar report was provided to local newspapers in the hometowns of most of the marchers.
The recent inauguration of Donald Trump brought back memories of the 1965 event and our travel from Fort Bragg (now Liberty), an overnight at Marine Corps Base Quantico about 35 miles south of the Capitol in Washington, where we marched as a part of the inauguration of Lyndon Johnson.
The Special Forces and its Green Beret have a close connection with President Kennedy.
During his visit to the Special Warfare Center Oct. 12, 1961, Kennedy specifically remarked on the Green Berets.
He later wrote to the center’s commander, Gen. William P. Yarborough, “I am sure that the Green Beret will be a mark of distinction in the trying times ahead.”
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy legitimized the beret — perhaps inadvertently — as Army standard issue while visiting troops at Fort Bragg.
He sent word to Gen. Yarborough for all Special Forces soldiers to wear their berets for the event.”
President Kennedy felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest.
In 1962, Kennedy wrote an official White House Memorandum stating, “The Green Beret is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom,”
In doing so, Kennedy, a Navy veteran, became viewed as a champion of the Special Forces.
“I know that you and members of your command will carry on for us and the free world in a manner which is both worthy and inspiring,” Kennedy said. “I am sure that the Green Beret will be a mark of distinction in the trying times ahead.”
After his assassination, Kennedy’s wife Jackie asked that the Green Berets serve as the honor guard during his funeral procession.
So, while we were honoring President Johnson, our Special Forces contingent was remembering President Kennedy, who had been killed on Nov. 22, 1963.
How did we do with the marching assignment?
A few days after we got back to Fort Bragg one of the soldiers who had made the trip stopped me and delivered this veiled putdown “They got good pictures of us marching, but you were the only one in step.”
I think he was joking, but I am not sure.

D.G. Martin, a retired lawyer, served as UNC-System’s vice president for public affairs and hosted PBS-NC’s “North Carolina Bookwatch.”