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Veteran's Affairs Plus discusses the issues that veterans in Las Vegas deal with on a daily basis. Your host, David L. Washington connects listeners with relevant community resources and information that they need to help veterans or themselves.
Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program. You're listening to special programming sponsored by making moves, life coaching services. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You
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Dave Washington 0:50
day Las Vegas. Great day Las Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I am pleased to have had the opportunity last week to speak about, and we'll do something similar today in honor of Black History Month, in terms of condolences, which I should cover again real quickly, condolences to the family of Mary card, Dr Kyrie card, who passed away a few years ago. She will have her service on March 2. I don't have the location, but you can look that up. But condolences to that family, and once again, condolences. I know it's been a couple of weeks now that we lost Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was one of the community icons with respect to civil rights struggles within the United States of America. Few birthdays I'll announce again this month I had, of course, my lovely wife, Marsha, and then also chip Tyler. And I mentioned chip because we golf together several times a weekend. I can tell you when he's hitting it good. Y'all he a Dan. This guy hits it very, very long. So when I have a foursome I'm trying to put together, he's one of the guys on my call list if I need somebody to run it down there real quick for me. So Las Vegas, I I am pleased to to acknowledge a dear friend, a colleague, a mentor, Assistant Chief, retired Dan Daniel Scott, LA County Fire Department, and today he and I, and we, I didn't hear back from Ollie Linson, who's also retired LA County Fire Department Assistant Chief, but we're going to talk in honor of Black History Month. And I think one of the best ways to do that is talk about the legacy of Assistant Chief Herschel claydy. He's an ancestor now once again, but he was a cornerstone of all the efforts to ensure that that department LA County, got on right track with respect to taking care and respecting people and giving people, various ethnic groups and genders, an opportunity to work for that fine Fire Department. But Herschel was not a joke. And then, before I let you in, I want, I want to. I want you to know, Dan, some of what you say may be used down the road, because I am going to I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Wes i i got my I got my engineer over this and what, what are you doing, leaning into the mic like then your voice getting off, hey, but he gave me thumbs up. Look, Dan, you remember, we know that Herschel was putting together, and he gave an outline of a book. And we never got, I never found that panel. And I I'm gonna look back at some of my old some of my old phones, and hopefully I did, because generally, I'll take a picture or something like that. But one thing I do want to say, I am preparing, because his story needs to be told, and I'm gonna tell some stories about him from my own perspective. And I tried to get his wife D on, but she's out of town, and I need it because we only got two lines on the for the phone call in, and I couldn't get her in the studio. But anyway, Dan is called a short story about a warrior, and I'm gonna give you a quick introduction, and then we'll have some discussion. I don't recall when I actually, I don't I don't actually recall when I met this fire service professional, but I purposely called the story that I'm writing about him a warrior. It's just, by the way he carried himself. You know, one thing, as you may attest to as well. Then Herschel was now one of them loud, boisterous, crazy talking. He was just so smooth. And when he walked into the room and when he spoke, he had what they call in the fire service and military command presence without a bunch of hooping and hollering like a Dave Washington. What to do is smooth man. So anyway, I'm gonna be writing about him, because for a number of different reasons, to include one of the things that Herschel said to me then it was so profound. You know how. When you lose a family member, people call to you know, express condolences. Herschel said to me, he called me when my mother passed, he said, Dave, I know how you feel. Then he said, No, I don't. At the time his mom was still alive, right there in San Diego, California. He said, Man, I don't have no idea how you feel. I can only imagine, because my mom is alive and well in San Diego, and I've always used that, because we've all done it to include me. Hey, man, I know how you feel. No, you don't, unless you've lost a child or a mother, parent, etc, etc. And still, you may not really, truly know. You may have a general idea, because I think death, and depending upon how close we were to that particular relative, will determine how you really, really the depth of your your pain, if you will. So with all of that, I'm going to introduce a dear friend, Assistant Chief retired, Daniel Scott, LA County Fire. What's up?
Dan Scott 5:58
Daniel, nothing much, Dave, but I'm always ready to talk about Herschel's lady, absolutely.
Dave Washington 6:06
And this brother retired. What? He joined the department in November 10, 1969 and he did 31 years. He retired December 18, 2000 when he said, I'm out of here. And one thing I love about Herschel, he said, I'm finna. Go play me some golf. He found him a pastime. In fact, I know that I used to come down and play with you guys. And I'm saying this to you. Wes, they told me, man, you better get that, because I was going down there with Mapquest West. And I'm talking to my engineer. I go down there with MapQuest, I say, Man, you and you and Herschel got on me. It was just riding to a golf course. Man, you better get that GPS where the lady can tell you what to do. So Wes, I stopped going down there with them little papers. I I finally got it on my phone, turn right, turn left. You're on the wrong street, reroute, reroute. But anyway, Hey, Dan, so let's, talk about let's talk about our friend.
Dan Scott 7:02
I was just telling my Uber driver yesterday that, by and large, that GPS, it never fails me, even when it does, I'm okay with it, because I remember what it was like when we didn't have GPS. That's right, things like things like that.
Dave Washington 7:23
But nothing beats that. GPS, yep. And them on Map Quest, some of them. Maps be so outdated. Man, be like man, this is man. When are you gonna update this map? This? This is not on this map. All this stuff that's being built exactly, but damn, with respect to her,
Dan Scott 7:39
go ahead. One of the things that that Herschel, and I wouldn't broadcast this kind of thing, but Herschel used the term we. Mm, hmm, an example would be, Well, Dan, we convinced the fire chief to do this, and we convinced the fire chief to do that and it, and we, when we get by ourselves, I would tell him, Herschel, we didn't do anything you did. That's the kind of guy he
Dave Washington 8:14
was. Exactly, absolutely,
Dan Scott 8:17
you know, what is that that ain't. No, I forget that that term I'm getting ready to pull a George Bush and mess up. But Herschel was a wee person, and he never, he never really strived for the credit to do anything. No, it was always the he was always inside of and focusing on the bigger picture, right? And there are such that Herschel been gone 25 years from the LA County Fire Department, and there are, we got two black Deputy Fire Chiefs. And there is no question in my mind that they owe their position to Hershel
Dave Washington 9:05
Clayton, you know, in the previous show Dan, I kind of acknowledged the four. The four. There was two. Came in June, and Monroe Williams, James Walker, and then in December, 63 Larry Powell and Otis Harris. And I talked about, they were the ones who tread the water, who were the pioneers, who blazed the trails. Otherwise I wouldn't had an opportunity to go through the ranks to be, ultimately become the fire chief. They did that. So you're absolutely correct, man, in terms of making things happen for for the overall and that's what Herschel was about. No doubt about it,
Dan Scott 9:41
absolutely, absolutely. And we, when you're talking about Herschel claydy, you you run out of good things to see, because you're always trying to really zero in on, let me let. Me try to describe him, but the reality of it all is there's there's just no words to describe a man like that. He was unique. We can use terms like warrior, and he was that right, but I still, I struggle with the right kind of words to describe Herschel Clayton?
Dave Washington 10:24
Well, I do as well, but it's just been on my heart and ever since, you know, and I want to talk a little bit about this in depth, about the station dedication that you were interested in, strictly involved in ensuring happened. But you know, a lady walked up to me, and I think I had mentioned in a few words that I had to was given the opportunity to speak at that dedication. And she said, Yeah, I was on her show too, about writing a book. And she gave me a card then, and I lost it. And I still, I hope that woman hears this show one day and say, Oh, Dave Washington, I'm the woman, because I just so in the meantime, I said, You know what, I don't know how much time God is going to allow me to continue on this earth, but in the short term, I am, at a minimum, going to write a short story about our brother, Herschel Clayton, because the work that he did. And to your point, then there's guys who are sitting right below the fire chief. They owe a debt of gratitude to Herschel claydy in the many things that he did to take on that department when others were just taking the slaps upside the head and you know. Okay, no big problem. Yes, it is a problem, because we all deserve a right to have a workplace that we can go to and expect to be treated with dignity and respect, as well as given an opportunity to move up through the ranks, if that's what we choose to do.
Dan Scott 11:49
I was just telling a person that just the other day, that I was watching Birmingham, Alabama, and how the fire department was called to use those high powered hoses on those demonstrators and people that were peacefully protesting, and fast forward the clock. Herschel is the reason why we don't do that anymore. Herschel was upset, and he and he was so upset that he took it to the fire chief, and because what he was upset about was the sheriff's had called the local fire department, LA County Fire Department, to do exactly that, right, get this guy out of a tree or something, and using their high powered hoses, and Herschel saw that, and he immediately took it to the fire chief, and to the fire chief's credit, we don't do that anymore. That's right, and that was over 25 years ago that we stopped that
Dave Washington 13:01
absolutely, and that is a good thing. I can tell you that it can cause so much harm to in fact, you know, when I joined the department, they said there's a couple things I said to myself, I would never take the order to put that high powered hose on another person, nor would I step on another person to achieve rank or anything else I'm make my way through my merit, through my work ethic, etc, but to hurt another person not into that. So yeah, Herschel was just, he was just so smooth with the things. I bet he didn't go in there hooping and hollering, like, like I used to do what I was president they I was a wild, crazy guy. Me and Larry were called what was a heck Jekyll and Hyde. Whoever the crazy one that was, that was me, Larry. Larry Powell was smooth and laid back. You know, had the perfect vocabulary, and I'm throwing out them different words that we can't use on the radio. Man, this acted a fool man. But ultimately, again, there's different ways to approach things, and I just love the way Herschel demonstrated his leadership to include because I was one of Herschel's assistant regional directors when he became the regional director of the International Association of Black professional firefighters southwest region. And I think, if I remember correctly, he followed Bob dems, and people wanted me to follow her, so I said, y'all had a pit bull yard, had a Doberman pension. No, I don't need to be up there, because I'm just about, you know, they deal a little bit different from the way I deal. I don't need to do that job, but it was a, it was my pleasure to serve with Hershel, and we did a number of things trying to increase the, you know, the membership. But still miss that brother.
Dan Scott 14:55
Yeah, go ahead. One of the things about her show is the. Uh, you indicated that he was regional director of the southwest region. Mm, hmm, that's the he's going to perform that oh yeah role, oh yeah, that position. And if, if you're not functioning, you better get out of his way.
Dave Washington 15:16
Oh yeah, he's coming. Yeah.
Dan Scott 15:19
Herschel took titles and responsibilities, seriously?
Dave Washington 15:25
Yeah, no doubt about it. So when I some of the stuff that I mentioned early on that was like in chapter one, now chapter two, and I'm just giving you the topic is in 1957 the family moved to San Diego. Chapter Three is going to be about his military service. And then moving on, then, you know, and I'm saying this because I know this is going to be recorded. I'm gonna send it to others, and anybody can help me fill in the various areas. I certainly will appreciate it. And then chapter four, the warrior stars his fire service career.
Dan Scott 15:59
Chapter Five, Well, Dave, anything you need from me, let me know.
Dave Washington 16:03
Yeah, well, here you go, right here. Dan, chapter five, yes, the title is, the title is he formed a posse. You ollie, what's his name? Passed away many years ago now, James, James. What was James last name, gosh, Dave Dixon, James, yo man. Man, he had a possum. I used to get on her. I said, Man, all I got is gene and Bert. You got 456, guys, man, and y'all just making things happen over there, that department. He just smiled. He said, work with what you got. He say, work with what you got. And I took that to heart and made things happen, working with what I had. You know, so life is good man, but and then chapter six will be the system must be challenged. Now, I don't know how much depth I'm gonna get into that, but he challenged. And I know he had a posse right there with him, which was you guys. So when you got that posse man the challenge, even though, just knowing his character, he would have done he would have done it alone anyway, but he had all you guys. And as you mentioned Dan, he always said, we, until you pull him to the side, we ain't done nothing. You did. Yes, sir, and you can
Dan Scott 17:25
look at him and say, Herschel, we didn't do anything. You did it. That's right. And that was just my way of making sure that he stayed focused. And it was kind of like a compliment, right? Really, I was just because I was just, I was always in awe of the way he carried himself and the way he would do things. And just like he pointed out, he wasn't a guy that would go in and screaming, although I do believe there's a time and a place for that? Oh, sure, so I'm not going to, Dave, you're my friend, and I'm not going to allow you to cut yourself up by saying, Well, when you went in to talk to the fire chief, the other guy was this, and you, you were that, I think, you know, just just current events kind of tell us that we need to, we need to step up the game. And right now, it's not business as usual, right? And like Obama, when, when he was commenting about that picture that that age picture, that
Dave Washington 18:45
47 talked about
Dan Scott 18:47
calling President, yeah, okay, Obama, but you need to be a little stronger than that. The time calls for the time dictates the way we respond, and you seem to be a few years behind. Well, I
Dave Washington 19:07
can tell you this once again. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. And as always, when the show starts, Jason always does a disclaimer, so anything that me or my guests say, it is not on behalf of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, it's us, and we believe in what we believe in, and going to the next level, chapter eight. And this where I want you to go into detail about what you did and and I know you work with the current president, or maybe he's the past president, but the legacy of the warrior. And this is where I want you to talk about, how did you guys go about and making it happen? With respect to that fire station, which generally is tough to get any agency, organization, city, county, any any municipal or state government, to put a name of someone on a building. Generally speaking, you. It's not an easy task, but I know you were instrumental
Dan Scott 20:02
in that. Well, Dave, you're asking something that I didn't publish a whole lot, but actually that was my ideal, and I chose not to have anybody help me because I did not want any naysayers. Right? Don't tell me what we can't
Dave Washington 20:25
do. That's right.
Dan Scott 20:27
And I wanted to dedicate that fire station before Herschel died, and that was the one thing that I didn't get done, right? And I'm going to fault covid 19 because of that, right at the same time, I didn't, I enlisted the services of two people, Andrew Evans and Ricky Lewis, late, late, late in the game, so to Speak. Right? I just set out to make sure that my friend Herschel Clayton got his just dues, and that fire station 58 was so fitting because of the truth be known, Herschel treated that fire station just like it was his. That's how much respect. He had to somewhat be the caretaker during the time he was assigned there, he felt like he was a caretaker, right taking care of the public business facility and what have you. So I just, my only regret was that we didn't, we didn't get it done. However, I will say this the president, the current president of the centurion, Johnny Gray, right? I'm going to really, I'm going to pull a Herschel and say, really, the credit belongs to him. He he listened to me at least two and a half years before we actually did the dedication right. I asked, I asked him to meet me, and I had this idea that he's and he was on board right away. And if it wasn't for covid, would have been done. We would have done it a lot sooner. We would, we would have done it a lot sooner. But I will give the credit to Johnny Gray, President. Johnny Gray, he had faith in me, and he had faith in the project right on, and he he saw it through.
Dave Washington 22:43
So do you do you recall offhand, how many years Herschel actually spent at that station? Proxy?
Dan Scott 22:49
Oh, let's see. Proxy I spent. Let's see, I've spent two and a half years with Herschel. He was a captain, I was a firefighter, and then Herschel came back as a VC, so All total, we might be closing in on four or five years.
Dave Washington 23:10
Okay, all right. Well,
Dan Scott 23:12
matter of fact, Dave, before I got there, Herschel was there. So I would say we might be closing in on six or seven years,
Dave Washington 23:24
six or seven years that he actually spent there, and then you and he maybe three, four or five years together, wow, man, well, I can tell you, man, that's not a and it's just me speaking. That's not a whole lot of times seven, eight years, man, but the impact, obviously, that he made, that you guys, with your initial idea, said, Hey, the work that was done here needs to be dedicated to this man for his service to this community and to the department. And you know, I tried to get, because you gave me the contact information, I tried to get the chief on this show, as well as the Commissioner. I forget her name, but you know, you know they have gatekeepers, man and them gatekeepers. Sometimes, you know, because I'm not a journalist, and I keep telling people I'm not a journalist, I just think it's a good story. It's a good story to be told to our listening audience of veterans, some who are firefighters, and just our general, general population, with respect to someone doing the kind of works. And I know, I know my family would think, are you talking out of both sides of your mouth? Because people keep talking about my name need to be on this building or that building. But I keep telling No, because I'm just a little bit still too crazy to be putting my name anyway, I'm liable to go off any minute. They say, We know you're nuts. What's the big deal? But no, Dave, I think, I think your idea of doing that man is so appropriate when a person puts a lot of time in as he did and and see you can, you could tell, obviously, when you see as many civilians that were there. There that he impacted the doggone community. He impacted it well. So absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much. We got about three minutes So Dan, why don't you start preparing, as I asked you one final question, when did you actually meet Herschel? Then give us some closing remarks on just your thought and feeling about Herschel, as well as the station dedication as a closer?
Dan Scott 25:23
Well, it's it's interesting that you should ask that question, Dave, when you apply for the County Fire Department. And I applied in 1977 I got hired in January. It's 1978 Now, part of that hiring process is we have to go through a number of maneuvers, right, using fire fighting equipment that agility. Yeah, right. Herschel was the only black captain on the County Fire Department in 1977 Wow. And it just so happened he was the proctor of the hose drag, and Dave, I've said this to a number of people. Herschel saw me as a black firefighter applicant, and he made sure I never I didn't know him. I didn't even know his first name, but, but the way he described what, what I needed to do on just a simple deal, like that hose drag right. Herschel made sure that I understood the directions.
Dave Washington 26:35
Wow, excellent. Because that whole that hose drag ain't no joke, if you don't do it properly, no, you're right. It could take you out because he did a friend of mine, like that red Feaster, took him out,
Dan Scott 26:45
Dave that hose, drag the instructions that he gave me. I walked away from that with man. That guy was really he took the time. It was something about him, and I recognized it. He took the time to make sure that I understood the directions and that they gave me every opportunity to pass that the particular evolution great. And I thought that, and I thought to myself, that there's something special about this guy, right on.
Dave Washington 27:19
That's a true story. Well, Dan, let me tell you this, man, I appreciate you coming on. You carried it Well, we're about out of time. I want to tell people once again, we just had Daniel Scott, retired Assistant Chief LA County Fire Department. We discussed his friend and dear friend and colleague and mentor to both of us, Herschel clay to yields, now an ancestor. So thank you so much, Dan, and we'll get you back on again. But I know that this month, it's been two years or so since that dedication took place about New York. So thank you, my friend. Hey,
Music 28:19
all the smoke in the air. Feel the hate when they stare all the pain that we bear.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai