Daniel Cheatham, a graduate of Thomas Dale High school and Longwood University, was commissioned as an officer in the Army National Guard at Fort Pickett on April 18. After serving in the Guard since 2006 as a pharmacy tech, Sgt. Cheatham applied and was accepted into the Accelerated OCS, SOC program. At the graduation ceremony, Cheatham was referred to as a “natural leader” by guest speaker SFC Michael E. Nolan. Cheatham had the highest Army Physical Fitness test average among all Virginia candidates. For his score of 294 out of 300, he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal. His parents Barron and Maureen Cheatham pinned on the 2nd Lieutenant bars. The U.S. military has a long-running tradition of presenting a dollar coin to the first enlisted member who gives the new officer the first salute. This honor went to his brother, Barron Amandis Cheatham, Jr., a former 2nd Class Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. His aunt Dr. Ruth Coles Harris presented him with the 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant and Captain bars earned by his uncle John B. Harris, who served in the Korean War.
Mr. Harris passed away last summer and was very proud of Daniel’s decision to join the Army National Guard.
