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151st AAA Battalion, Albert Pike Memorial Temple, Amaranth, Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas State Police, Bendemeer Grotto, Big Rock Masonic Lodge, Crossett Jaycees, David Leroy Sitton, Eastern Star, Golden Goblins, Harrison High School, Heber Springs Optimist Club, Little Rock Nine, North Hills Baptist Church, North Hills Lions Club, Odd Fellows, Rebekahs., Russellville Jaycees, Scimitar Shrine, U.S. Marshal's Service, White Shrine of Jerusalem
David Leroy Sitton Sr., an honorable man who served his community nearly his entire life, died Dec. 31, 2010. This Christian man from North Little Rock lived 72 years.
Born July 1, 1938 to Haskell and Mattie Sitton in Harrison, he attended school in the Harrison school district, graduating from Harrison High School in 1957 following an All-District and honorable mention All-State career as a halfback for the Golden Goblins. Later that fall, he helped usher the Little Rock Nine into Little Rock Central High School as a member of the Arkansas National Guard, 151st AAA Battalion.
“I felt a little scared because I had just graduated from high school and already I had such a big responsibility. Many people were screaming and yelling at the nine kids,” Sitton said during an interview with his grandson for the LRCH Memory Project. “It felt very strange trying to keep the Little Rock Nine from entering Central one minute, then trying to get them in another minute.” Continue reading