Two generations, one mission: VA police father, son serve Veterans
On a hot mid-July afternoon, the auditorium at the Department of Veterans Affairs Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) in Little Rock, Arkansas, filled with the quiet rustle of dress uniforms as Samuel Yelton and his classmates waited to be called forward. When his name was read and he stepped up to receive his certification and badge from the VA Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) academy, one face in the crowd stood out from the rest: his father, William, who had stepped away from his own training that week to be there.
William was in the middle of the VA’s Firearms Instructor Training Course, spending long days on the range and in the classroom, when he asked for a few hours to attend his son’s graduation. The request was granted, and he slipped into a seat just in time to watch the ceremony and pin the badge upon Samuel’s VA Police uniform.
Now, both father and son report for shifts at the VA Medical Center in Asheville, North Carolina, working out of the same police station — one built to protect the Veterans they once stood among.
“For me, it’s very inspiring,” William said. “We both served in same unit in the Army, and then here we are working together for the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
From local law enforcement to VA
William’s law enforcement career began long before Samuel was old enough to understand what the badge meant. For 27 years, he worked the streets of Asheville, rising through the ranks of the city’s police department before retiring. Retirement, though, didn’t sit easily with him.
“I was obviously not old enough to feel like I needed to be fully put out in the pasture yet,” he said. “So, I was just looking for an opportunity where I could continue to serve in a similar capacity. Through contacts I had, I came and explored the VA, and that’s the decision I made.”
He joined the VA in October 2025 and pinned on his badge after his POST graduation a few months later.
Samuel’s path ran through a different set of roads. After leaving the Army, he settled briefly in California before the pull of home brought him back to North Carolina, where he took a job in machining, working with his hands instead of a badge. One afternoon, with nothing more than curiosity in mind, he drove over to see his father at work. He walked through the station, shook hands with officers he’d never met, and asked more questions than he expected.
“I started meeting people, and just from that point, I think I developed a curiosity and found out more about the job, and it appealed to me,” Samuel said.
William remembered the day when his son sparked an interest in working with VA.
“Our station chief was talking to me one day, and he came through and kind of cornered [Samuel] and said, ‘Hey, you want a job,'” William recalled, laughing at the memory that has since become something of a running joke between them.
The interest stuck. He applied, went through the standard hiring process, and waited. Soon after, Samuel was sworn in as a VA Police officer, about six months after his father.
Two generations of the 82nd Airborne
Long before either wore a VA Police uniform, they wore another one — the maroon beret and jump wings of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. They served a generation apart, their time in the 82nd separated by more than two decades, but shared the same training and discipline instilled in soldiers who wear the patch.
William served in the 1990s as an infantryman before separating from the Army in 1997. Samuel served more recently as an artillery forward observer, calling in fire support before separating in 2023. Both men climbed to the rank of sergeant before hanging up their uniforms.
Serving those who served
For Samuel, walking into work alongside his father is a reminder of everything that led him there.
“Honestly, it’s a huge point of pride for me to be able to work, one, in law enforcement; two, to serve Veterans; and three, to work with my father,” he said. “This is kind of my guiding flame in life.”
William, watching his son settle into the job, expects Samuel’s career to outlast his own.
“I would say he’ll probably do it longer than I will, having been retired once already,” he said. “I’m not even sure how long I’ll work, but I’ll be here for a few more years at least.”
