After 30 years, Sergeant First Class Jimmy Harper, Readiness NCO for the Winona and Kosciusko National Guard Armories, has retired. Harper’s last day was November 30, 2018, and this past weekend, his service to our country was honored at a retirement banquet held at the Community House in Winona.
“I don’t miss the workload, but I miss those guys,” Harper said. “This last year was one of the most stressful of my career due to the deployment.”
Last March, the troops from the Mississippi National Guard 2-114th Bravo Battery Field Artillery deployed from Winona and Kosciusko to Kuwait. Harper’s job responsibilities included preparing the unit to go overseas.
“I took care of the day-to-day business in the absence of the commander and first sergeant,” Harper said.
As a fulltime serviceman, maintaining the armories in both towns as well as closing them up when the troops deployed was part of his responsibilities.
He even kept the lawn at the Winona armory mowed while the troops were deployed.
Harper first enlisted in the Army Reserve, then as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army, and now as the Battery Readiness NCO for the Mississippi National Guard. He deployed three times – a two-month stint in Haiti, a combat tour in Afghanistan, and a combat tour in Iraq.
His first combat deployment to Afghanistan was in April 2005, just two days after the birth of his daughter, Keirra.
“I had Keirra on April 10, and he left on April 12,” wife Janet Harper said. “When he left, I just handled it.”
At Saturday night’s retirement reception, Harper presented his wife with a bouquet of flowers. Janet Harper explained that when he was deployed, he didn’t have to worry about home.
“He knew I’d take care of it,” Janet Harper said.
Now that Harper is permanently in Winona, he said he doesn’t want to stop serving his fellow man.
“I’m starting a handyman business,” Harper said. “That way I can still be a part of the community here locally and still be a servant to others. I really do enjoy meeting new people.”
Harper is also very active in the community. He is a member of the board of directors of the 51/55 Water Association, a member of the board of directors of the Winona-Montgomery Crime Stoppers, and a minister at New Green Grove Church in Greenwood.
“I’ve been in the ministry for about 15 years,” Harper said.
Harper and wife, Janet, who serves as District 5 Supervisor of Montgomery County, are the parents of Lashelle Selvie of Columbus, Keenum Harper, an airman in the U.S. Air Force stationed in California; Laquita Harper of Columbus and Keirra Harper of Winona. They are also grandparents of three, with a fourth grandchild due on February 12.
