Although Vietnam veteran Gary Mitchell might be getting fairly well known for his delicious Brunswick stew, his life centers on giving back to various organizations. He is 79, but he is not slowing down in his zeal for service.

Today, he lives on Cliff Seckinger Road in Glennville but is originally from Evans County although he was born in California. His parents are the late Bernice Lee Mitchell and Juliette Mitchell. Gary has five living brothers and one sister. Brothers Bernice, Jesse, and Peter live in Evans County; Matthew lives in Metter; and Kenny lives in Tattnall. Sister Cathy Rushing lives in Bellville.

He was a young 17-year-old when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps two weeks after graduating from Claxton High School. After his boot camp on Parris Island, South Carolina, he was sent to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, for his initial training, which was followed by nine months of classes in Millington, Tennessee, in what became his specialty of aviation electronics. During his 22.5 years in the Marines, 19 months of that time was spent in Vietnam, 1966-67, where he was an aviation electronics technician for military helicopters.

He also spent time at air bases in New River, North Carolina; Beaufort, South Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; and Okinawa. His military career included the completion of an advanced electronic school in Memphis, Tennessee, and time as a helicopter electronics instructor at Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin, California, for four years.  He also spent two years on recruiting duty in Indiana before returning to New River, North Carolina.

"I retired in 1986 but stayed in California and had already been moonlighting in security at Disneyland Hotel," said Gary, with time spent as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff's Department in Santa Ana, California, prior to retirement.

"After military retirement, I joined and worked for the Orange County Sheriff's Department in California for 24 years as a deputy sheriff. I also worked in Corrections and on uniformed patrol, but really enjoyed the seven years that I taught drug education in the elementary schools there," he said.

"I moved back here in 2010 and am glad to be near my children and granddaughters," said Gary, whose children include William, Gary Jr., and Hope.

William was born in Claxton, Georgia, and today works for a pine straw company in Bulloch County. Gary Jr. works at Claxton Cold Storage, and he and his wife, Elizabeth, owner of The Parlor on Main in Reidsville, live in Claxton; their daughter, Natalie, is a sophomore at the University of Georgia. Hope has two daughters, Hayze and Sierra, who Gary raised since they were in elementary school.

"Hayze, who graduated from Southeastern Tech, is a dental hygienist, and she is married to Spencer Brannen, who works on a farming operation with Ben Hilliard.  Their three children are Jackson, Kinslee, and Cole. Sierra is single, a graduate of Georgia Southern University, and is a nurse in a pediatric hospital in Atlanta," said Gary, and the girls lived with him until they graduated from Tattnall County High School and college.

"I am quite proud of them and their accomplishments. They call me G-Pa, and my great-grandchildren call me GG-Pa. They were challenging years, but with faith in God, anything is possible," said Gary.

One of his commitments today is the Imago Dei Motorcycle Ministry, a Reidsville, Georgia, based motorcycle ministry made up of Christ followers who are called to serve the community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  One of their recent fundraisers was a "Listen and Listen Live" benefit ride, teaming up with the Preborn organization to save preborn babies.

"It is said that as many as 25 percent of pregnancies will be terminated early. That can be as many as 800,000 lives or more taken each year. Teaming up with the Preborn organization and other like-minded churches, groups, and businesses, the goal was to provide as much assistance as possible to assist with saving lives of the unborn. It is reported that as many as 8 out of 10 expectant mothers, who actually hear their preborn child's heartbeat, elect to keep the child. Praise God," said Gary, with a motorcycle ride held this past September for this purpose of raising funds for ultrasounds to save these babies.      

"Along with several other groups, we raised over $7000, which perhaps saved the lives of 250 babies with these ultrasounds," said Gary.

Gary's two sons and two friends formed the motorcycle ministry in 2021, and it now has 17 full-time patched members who raise money for worthy causes. The group hosts two signature rides a year, one in March to raise money for downed or injured bikers and their families and the other in September teaming up with Preborn to save as many miracles in the womb as possible by allowing expectant mothers to hear the heartbeat of the miracle growing inside them.  Gary is accompanied everywhere by his faithful golden retriever, Oakley, who rides behind his trike in a special cart made for her. Oakley is a good sport about wearing her goggles most of the time while moving.

Gary is also a faithful member of the VFW #7764 in Reidsville, and his Brunswick stew is his passport to the VFW events and meetings.  He enjoys this group of fellow veterans and the projects that help people, especially the wheelchair ramps for older citizens, including veterans.

"When I first came back to Tattnall County in 2010, I worked at Smith State Prison for over six years, and we had potluck once a month among some of the staff. That's when I really got into making the Brunswick stew, and my salsa, which is another favorite.  I am a vegetarian, mostly, but I make my stew with chicken, pork, or beef, or all three," said Gary, donating two gallons of his stew to the recent Glennville Rotary Club Scholarship auction. Gary's sister, Cathy, also donated several homemade cakes to the auction.

Gary has fond memories as a child in Evans County of peanut boilings and cane grindings, almost a thing of the past today.

He enjoys preparing a low country boil for a large group, and his crab legs are another specialty.

One of his daily commitments is a three-mile early morning walk around the Glennville Recreation Park pond, where he feeds the fish and geese each morning.  Gary has been vocal about the senseless killing of the geese at the pond, and even took one, Gus (Goosie) the goose, to a vet in Savannah, trying to save him.

Gary attends Connection Church in Statesboro as well as other local churches.

As one would expect, Gary grows a large garden every year, including a sugar cane patch. Last year, he harvested over 300 lbs. of okra off six rows. Other garden crops include squash, peas, beans, peppers, cabbage, and a few onions. Last year, his two fig trees yielded over 200 lbs. of figs.

"You get a lot more out of giving than the recipient.  No one is too old to give back to others. Service should be a way of life as long as our health allows it. Just like you are never a former Marine, ‘Once a Marine, Always a Marine,’ Semper Fi; you are never too old to retire from service to others.  When you are serving your fellow man, you are serving as God would have you to do so," said Gary.

Gary Mitchell’s Recipes

PORK CHOP CASSEROLE

• 6 bone-in, center cut pork chops, 3/4-inch thick
• 4 Tbsp. cooking oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 and Cream of Mushroom soup
• 2 cups sour cream, divided
• 2/3 up chicken broth
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. rosemary
• 1 (2.8-oz.) tub French's fried onions

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. In a large Ziplock bag, mix flour, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt, and shake. Place pork chops in the bag and flour both sides thoroughly. In a large skillet with oil, brown both sides of the pork chops. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. 

In a large bowl, mix thoroughly 1 cup of sour cream, Cream of Mushroom soup, chicken broth, ginger, and rosemary. Pour evenly over pork chops. Sprinkle half of the French fried onions over the pork chops. Bake covered at 350-degrees F. for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and uncover. Evenly spread remaining sour cream over casserole. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE CAKE

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 can sliced pineapple
• maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.  Mix cake mix, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 cup of water, and 3 eggs in a bowl with mixer on medium for two minutes.  Prepare a 9x13-inch pan.  Oil the sides of the pan.  Melt 1 stick of butter and pour evenly into the baking pan.  Sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar evenly over melted butter.  Place slices of pineapple evenly over brown sugar.  Place a red cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.  Pour cake mix evenly over the pineapple and cherries.   Place in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

REALLY GOOD PICO

• 6 to 7 firm Roma tomatoes, eyes removed and finely diced
• 1 green tomato
• 1 medium tomatillos, diced
• 1/4 of an onion, red or white, diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• 1 Tbsp. garlic salt
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• for mild pico, add no jalapeño peppers
• for medium pico, add 2 jalapeños, diced
• for hot pico, add 4 jalapeño peppers or more, diced