Bear Stephenson and Morton Massey struck up a military kinship that has endured
One morning in 1973, in the shadow of a hallowed hill, at the US Army Reserves center then situated on the UT campus, Bear Stephenson said his first hello to Morton Massey. Among other duties, Private Massey was assigned to serve as First Lieutenant Stephenson’s Jeep driver for the next year.
Little did the two young men know that the friendship they would establish over the next year would later grow into a dynamic partnership making a world of difference in their community.
Stephenson would become a seasoned, sought-after auctioneer. Massey would go into software development and create a platform to manage the auction checkout process. The men would team up to bless numerous community organizations and enrich thousands of lives throughout East Tennessee by helping to raise much-needed funds.
Several decades later the pair’s friendship would come full circle in an even more fitting and poignant way. On April 10, 2024, both men traveled to Washington, DC, with HonorAir Knoxville, joining 132 fellow veterans for a memorable day of remembrance and reflection— capped off by a raucous “Welcome Home” celebration at McGhee Tyson Airport that night. (To learn more about that flight, read our feature article at cityviewmag.com/finally-home.)
None of that occurred to either man on that first morning in 1973. But looking back to their time with the 844th Engineering Battalion in Knoxville, Stephenson and Massey express fondness not only for the camaraderie they shared but also for the character traits each of them noticed in the other—traits they would come to value even more deeply over the decades.
“Morton is laid-back, nonchalant, he’s not loud, but he has a quiet influence that can make a tremendous impact on people,” Stephenson says of Massey. That influence became evident over the years at auctions. In addition to running the checkout, Massey often filled the role of a bid assistant or “spotter” who would kindle the bidding from among attendees.
“Morton can work a crowd as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” says Stephenson. “I’ve always said, ‘If you’ll let me bring Morton and feed him dinner, he’ll more than make up for the cost of the meal.’ He’s that persuasive.”
As for Massey’s assessment of Stephenson, a more gregarious impression emerges. “I could see right away that Bear would light up the room. He’s got such a wonderful smile and a great personality. People have always been naturally drawn to him. But as fun-loving as he is, he’s also incredibly focused and diligent about the work he does.”
Candy for the Kids
For Stephenson, that stint with Massey and others at the reserves center in Knoxville was a welcome respite from his earlier service, including a tour in Vietnam from 1971-72. A Clinton High School graduate, he had enrolled in ROTC at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, graduated in 1970 with a business degree, and opted to enlist in the Army. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant combat engineer, completed basic training at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, and sent to dry, hot-as-jalapenos Fort Hood, Texas.
Stephenson, who has a knack for seeing the lighter side of life, jokes that after seven months on base, “I was halfway glad to get orders to go over to Vietnam and get the hell out of Fort Hood!” Once there, at a base 30 miles south of the Central Highlands—“I could look to the north and see the mountains, and to the south and see rice paddies”—Stephenson worked with troops maintaining roads, bridges, and related infrastructure. He sometimes escorted convoys to pick up rations and spare parts for the dozers and road graders.
Even amid the stresses of the war in Southeast Asia, his outgoing personality and a desire to help others blossomed. He oversaw the base’s NCO Club, a watering hole and gathering place for soldiers. “I’d get six or seven pallets of Bud or Miller beer and sell it for 12 cents a can,” Stephenson recalls. “We did our best to keep the troops from being homesick.”
His most vivid memory of Vietnam reflects a similar heart for making things better. “I had a lot of interaction with civilians, and I was especially sympathetic to what the local children were going through.”
Every week, the soldiers received a box of supplies— soap, razors, MREs, and sundries. The kit included M&Ms and similar treats. “A lot of the guys didn’t eat that candy, so I’d go through the enlisted men’s barracks and gather up all of it I could find, take it to the little villages north and south of us, and give it out. They didn’t have that kind of stuff. I got a lot of pleasure out of seeing the smiles on those kids’ faces.”
As news of his visits spread and throngs of youngsters began to surround him, Stephenson grew fearful that they might trample each other. “I thought, there’s gotta be a better way. So I got to know the head of one of the schools, and he let me come in and put some candy on every child’s desk.” Even all these years later, those simple acts of kindness and the happiness they brought shine as a bright light amid fog-of-war memories.
And through it all, Stephenson says, enlisting “was the best thing I ever did—for the pride of serving my country, the country that I dearly love.”
Following the Money
Returning home to Tennessee in 1972, Stephenson parlayed his finance degree into a foray into banking. A local businessman and fellow veteran who had served in the Marines took a liking to him. That man, Jake Butcher, hired and trained Stephenson to become a C&S Bank assistant branch manager in Clinton.
The following year, Stephenson’s penchant for military service led him to the army reserves center where he met Morton Massey.
Massey was in the middle of six years of duty in 1973 when Stephenson walked in. As the two zig-zagged from morning roll call at the Knoxville center to the Oak Ridge unit to check on equipment and supplies, and back in the afternoons, they enjoyed “a lot of good times,” Massey says. “Bear was the best.”
Massey would complete two more years after Stephenson left the reserves to continue his banking role, including a stint at the Fountain City branch of United American Bank (it’s now a Home Federal), until 1976, when he opted to shift into real estate—which led into his becoming an auctioneer in the early 1980s.
Massey, meanwhile, built his career as a computer and software expert. When he attended an auction for his daughter’s dance group, with multiple items up for bid, it occurred to him that he could write a program that could facilitate a smooth, automated checkout for buyers and the organization. That innovation led him, and his wife, Becky (now State Senator Massey), to begin volunteering to assist with charitable auctions. They worked 40, 50, or more events each year, usually on Friday or Saturday nights, up until 2020 or so.
With Stephenson himself engaged in nonprofit auctions, it was only natural that he and Massey would reconnect in that realm. The two teamed up and conducted hundreds of auctions over the years, Stephenson as the all-smiles, big-personality auctioneer, Massey more quietly handling checkout and engaging in strategic recon as a spotter to sweeten the pot among bidders. They had a blast, and on occasion they would reminisce about their military escapades.
“Bear would do that more than I would,” Massey recalls. “We’re doing an event and bump into somebody and Bear goes into, ‘Let me tell you a funny story about how Morton and I met in the army in 1973!’ It’s nice how we started there and it developed into a lifelong friendship.”
Washington Whirlwind
Their bond grew even stronger when they took part in the aforementioned HonorAir Knoxville flight in 2024. Massey, who had heard about it and been invited to apply, thought of his friend Bear and made sure he knew about the opportunity as well.
Their civilian “chaperone” (a leader/guide assigned to several veterans during the trip) was Knox County Mayor Glen Jacobs. Standing together at the Air Force Memorial, the first stop of the day, the men were talking with the mayor and with US Representative Tim Burchett about how grateful they were for this experience, and how blessed they feel to live in East Tennessee, where the community cherishes its military veterans.
For his part, Stephenson added, “if I had to go fight in a war, I’d want a platoon made up of soldiers from our part of the country, because those I served with were patriotic souls who knew how to use a weapon, and they weren’t afraid to fight.”
After the Welcome Home party at the airport that evening, Stephenson reflected that the journey was “one of the most memorable things I have ever done in my life,” and Massey concurred.
These days, with many live auctions having moved online and virtual, the two men still work together on events, but much less often. Among other pursuits, Massey enjoys time as an expert ornithologist who loves birdwatching and cherishes the many years he and Becky have coached 11- and 12-year-old girls’ softball. Stephenson remains active in business and in the community as well.
The two scarcely could have imagined all that would unfold on that morning 52 years ago when they first hopped into a Jeep together in the heart of Rocky Top.
Comments are closed.