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There are other people connected with our class who are serving in the Armed Forces. Go HERE to see photos and read info.
Byrnes class leader anchors Navy's Third Fleet
By JASON SPENCER, Staff Writer
Published May 28, 2007
Reprinted here by permission of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal Newspaper
 Leadership isn't something most people can be taught. It comes naturally, or it doesn't come at all. Throughout his life, Sam Locklear has proven to possess that natural leadership: humble, confident, friendly and determined.
It's a life that took him from Byrnes High School to what became a 30-year career in the U.S. Navy - and one that took him from being a Rebel to being a patriot.
Today, Locklear, a three-star vice admiral, oversees the Navy's Third Fleet. Based in San Diego, the Third Fleet includes more than 35,000 sailors, 72 ships, 32 submarines and an assortment of support vessels.
"When I stand in front of the mirror in the morning coming to work, do I feel the pressure? I feel the responsibility, but I think I'm well equipped and well supported," Locklear, 52, said in a telephone interview.
Classmates from Byrnes remember a friendly boy, one who seemed destined for great things - they voted him "most likely to succeed" his senior year.
"I can see his picture in the annual in my mind, the way he posed, with his hand inside his coat, looking really important - looking like a leader," said Lynne Sharpe, 53, of Greer. "He was the kind of person who was motivated to get out there and do something with himself."
'Tough but positive'
Samuel Locklear III was Byrnes' 1972 senior class president, graduating that year with just less than 400 other students. He started his high school years in Greenville, but attended Byrnes beginning in the 10th grade. He didn't play sports, but was in plenty of student organizations, including the Beta Club.
"Being in different classes, we still ran around in the same group of friends," said Shirley Henderson of Lyman. "You didn't have to be a high-level student to be a friend of Sam's. He was just that type of person. And he's still that type of person today. You don't have to have money and prestige to be a friend of Sam's."
Raised in Duncan
Locklear was born in Georgia, but he grew up in Duncan, which he called "a great, nurturing community."
It was a Duncan untouched by the rapid development that a BMW Manufacturing plant would one day bring. It was a town that still relied on textiles and, to some degree, agriculture.
Locklear was the middle of three children, with a sister on either side of the pecking order.
By 1972, the country was weary of the Vietnam War, though Locklear remembers a community here very much in tune with the idea of serving in the military.
"In my senior year of high school, I was like a lot of young men and women are, not quite sure what they're going to do or how they're going to fit into this bigger picture," Locklear said. "I was only 17 at the time. I looked around. I asked a lot of mentors, from pastors, to my parents, to my classmates, and it would appear to me I was looking for a place to go to give me an opportunity to see the world, further my education opportunities, and at the same time, pay me."
Locklear's father, Samuel Locklear Jr., had spent a few years in the Army, but for the most part, the younger Locklear was not raised in a military family. And no one from his family had been in the Navy.
But that's the branch Locklear enlisted in, on a snowy day in March, as he recalls. His parents had to sign for him to enlist.
"It had an allure and appeal that ultimately has paid off," Locklear said.
Boot camp was "tough but positive," and Locklear was on his way to being a photographer's mate. He met several mentors along the way who encouraged him to further his education and career.
With the help of a congressional appointment, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. In 1977, he graduated at the top of his class, his father said.
Continued HERE!
Photos of Vice Admiral Locklear courtesty of the United States Navy
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