James. T. Carr, former Air Defense Artillery regimental command sergeant major, addresses the crowd at the annual installation MLK Jr. holiday observance held Jan. 15 at the officer's club here. Carr recalled his family's ordeal during the riots foll...

Staff Sgt. Windydawn Boles [RIGHT], a chemical specialist assigned to the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, cuts the cake following the annual installation MLK Jr. holiday observance held Jan. 15 at the officer's club. Boles said that the ceremony ...

With furrowed brow, Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret.) James T. Carr told the story of a young boy living in Memphis, Tenn. where Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, to the attendees of the annual MLK observance here.

The story described the boy's experiences during the evening following the MLK assassination.

"That night [his] father told the family to stay close," Carr said. "They weren't to change into their sleeping clothes or go to bed in separate bedrooms, but instead they stayed huddled together on the living room floor."

"The boy was confused," he continued. "But as the night went on sirens wailed and bullets rang out in the streets. He could hear voices telling folks to go back into their homes."

The family surveyed the bullet-riddled neighborhood the next day but survived unharmed, Carr said.

Carr was selected as the guest speaker for many reasons, according to the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade equal opportunity advisor, Sgt. 1st Class Eleazar Rodriguez.

Carr is a retired command sergeant major, having served in the Army for 33 years, including selection as the ADA regimental command sergeant major.

One more detail emerged that highlighted Carr's qualification as the guest speaker for the MLK observance.

"The boy, well…that was me," said Carr.

Carr's personal recounting of the hours following King's assassination resonated with the Soldiers.

"It was a very moving speech," said Staff Sgt. Windydawn Boles, a chemical specialist assigned to the 35th ADA. "You can tell that [the experience] definitely shaped the man that this brigade knows him to be."

Carr served as the 35h ADA brigade sergeant major 2007 to 2009 and is married to the 2-1 ADA Battalion command sergeant major, Command Sgt. Maj. Melanie Carr.