Brig. Gen. Robert Crear said he drew strength growing up in Vicksburg from everyday acts of courage. He challenged his audience Monday night to carry forward that spirit.

Crear commands the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division and was keynote speaker for the 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at Vicksburg Auditorium.

About 300 people heard Crear, one of the nation’s highest ranking military engineers, as the third of three events remembering the civil rights leader.

It followed a first-ever MLK Day parade at 3 p.m. with Crear as the grand marshal. Organizer Gertrude Young said the parade drew about 400 people to downtown, where attractions also included the Alcorn State University marching band.

Crear said he grew up during &#8220the vestiges of the Jim Crow South,” when schools, movie theaters, restaurants and doctor’s offices were still segregated or had segregated parts.

&#8220So I can quite vividly see the progress that has been made due in large part to Dr. King’s dedication and sacrifices,” Crear said.

He said two of his heroes were his mother and his grandmother, but that there were others in the neighborhood he admired.

&#8220As I looked around on some of the dirt streets and shotgun houses, outside toilets, I saw families pulling together against some very formidable odds,” he said. &#8220They were everyday, ordinary people, many of whom never realized they were planting the seeds of our legacy in our hearts whenever we came in contact with them. All they wanted was to make a better life for their children.”

He said his mother and grandmother instilled values in him at an early age.

&#8220They always told me, ‘Don’t lie, steal or cheat,’” he said. &#8220They also told me to treat all people with dignity and respect.

&#8220They told me that there are going to be some doors that are closed, and they’re expecting me to be able to get my foot in the door and to set such a sterling example that that door will never be closed on anybody else.”

Crear’s wife, Reatha, gave an introductory speech, saying her husband is the first native or black person to command the Corps’ Vicksburg District and the first of either of those categories to command the MVD, one of six Corps centers conducting civil works projects nationwide. Crear is a graduate of Vicksburg public schools and Jackson State University, through whose ROTC program he earned his Army commission.

Gen. Crear said he knew he wanted to be an Army officer from age 8. He said he’d go to his cousin’s house on Sunday afternoons and watch documentaries, including one that showed cadets graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

&#8220Those young men would be commissioned as second lieutenants with assignments and responsibilities around the world,” he said. &#8220But the most important thing that stuck in my head was that they would be an officer. And as an officer your word would be your bond. You would be judged by your character and your performance and not by the color of your skin. That’s what I wanted to be.”

Crear’s assignments have included commanding Task Force Restore Iraqi Oil in 2003 following the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led coalition. He became the MVD commander in June 2004 and is responsible for a $1 billion civil works program. In addition, this year the MVD has been authorized to do at least $2.5 billion in work in Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck Aug. 29.

He encouraged the audience to serve others.

&#8220The great thing about service is that it can bring us all closer together,” he said. &#8220For the next year, I would challenge you – call a friend – to help promote Dr. King’s legacy. This time next year I would love to engage in a conversation with you that goes like this: What did you do over the past year to help your community, your school, children, your family, that you had not done before?.

&#8220And all I ask you to do is make Dr. King proud.”

Crear also commented on how the Army has become a model for effective racial integration.

&#8220In 1998 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of President Truman’s historic order ending segregation in the armed forces,” he said. &#8220Though it took some effort and a lot of work – by some of the groups you heard about tonight, the NAACP – it took leadership and courage, and we continue on that journey today.

&#8220The Army embraces integration and today continues to be a place of opportunity for men and women of all backgrounds. Our soldiers proudly serve our nation throughout the world to protect our rights, our liberties and our freedoms.”

Also featured at Monday night’s event were the Vicksburg High School Gospel Choir; VHS senior Elyssa Lassiter, who delivered an original speech on King; student Darrian Carral, who read King’s &#8220I Have a Dream” speech; the Solid Rock Pentecostal Church Sign Language Team; and soloist Andre Voss.

At the parade, South Park Elementary School sixth-grader Tavarius Thomas, 11, said he had learned about King through more than one of his courses.

&#8220He did a lot for black freedom,” Thomas said.

The day’s events began with the annual breakfast sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. About 300 people also attended that event and heard Chief Judge Leslie D. King of the Mississippi Court of Appeals.