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FVSU to hold memorial service for slain soldierBy Natasha SmithTELEGRAPH STAFF WRITERFORT VALLEY - Hayes Clayton often assisted other cadets when he served in the Fort Valley State University ROTC program and showed other leadership skills, his former professor of military science, retired Lt. Col. Gregory Rooks, recalled Monday. Clayton, an Army captain, was killed in Iraq on Dec. 25 by an improvised explosive device. Clayton was assigned to the 842nd Military Training and Transition team, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. Clayton was most likely displaying those leadership skills, Rooks said. "I'm sure he was leading from the front," Rooks said, adding that he was numb when he first heard the news Dec. 26 of his former student's death. Clayton, a 2002 Fort Valley State graduate, will be remembered Wednesday in a memorial service at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the W.E.B. Blanchet Computer Technology and Mathematics Building. Rooks said the student from Marietta was popular on the college campus. Besides his ROTC membership, Clayton played on the football team and was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. While he participated in other activities, Clayton's dedication to ROTC remained unwavering. During his junior year of college, Clayton quit the football team to fully commit himself to ROTC, Rooks said. He served on the Raider team as a cadet captain and as assistant operations officer. "Without a doubt, he was a first-class cadet," Rooks said.
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