History will probably best remember Hal Suit as the Republican who ran against Jimmy Carter in the 1970 Georgia Governor’s election. The Future President trounced Suit 59 to 41 percent. Hal left his job as a broadcaster with WSB-TV to run for Governor. He died in 1994 at the age of 72.
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Don McClellan's half-a-century with WSB Television 
August 10, 2009 at 1:51 pm |
Hal was also inducted into the Georgia Broadcasters Hall of Fame the same year as my dad (Ray Moore)!
August 10, 2009 at 4:59 pm |
I remember him from his time with 11-Alive.
September 14, 2009 at 11:45 pm |
I remember Hal very well. I had just returned home from military service in Vietnam in 1968. My parents were having dinner guests, who should it be? Hal and his wife Laura and family. It seems my younger sisters Mary Lynn and Vicki were friends of the Suit’s younger daughters Melody and Susan. Mom wanted to meet the girls. So an invite went out to the family for dinner. Mom was well known for her dinners. After the main meal the girls were at the pool. The two mom’s were cleaning up the remains of a wonderful meal. Hal my dad and I were in the living room talking and Hal asked me about my service in Vietnam and if I had I taken any pictures. Hal had just finished his story on how he lost his leg while in the service. I said I did take some movies of the Tet offensive raid in Quin Nhon where my unit was stationed. I pulled the 8 mm projector out and we looked at 20 minutes of film that I had shot. I was in a support unit (Finance) so all we did the 3 days of fighting was stay in our compound and pull guard duty. I was our commanding officer’s driver and picked him up from his compound on the other side of town, and drove him back home at night. Due to the attack I was not able to get to him until the second day. I left the compound and drove the two miles to his location near the docks. As I left I had my M16 and my 8mm camera . That morning I was on the roof of our Finance Building shooting film of the helicopter Gun ships shooting at the VC in the main downtown part of the city. I arrived without incident and we made it back to the Finance office. I spent the rest of the day cleaning my weapon and pulling guard duty in the Finance office. Our unit sponsored an orphanage in the city. My commanding officer,Col. Peat, wanted to see to the welfare of the people and what damage had been done to the building and grounds. We were not able to get to the location until it was cleared of the VC. We arrived in the early afternoon and it looked as if a battle had just finished. The top floor of the building was missing and so were the kids. To make a long story short I had taken other shots of the fighting and aftermath of the three days of fighting. Hal was impressed with what he saw and asked me if I wanted a job. WSB was starting an apprentice photographer program. I said sure and Hal and his family left for home. About a week or two later Don McClellan called and asked when was I coming to the station. I remembered the talk with Hal but thought he was just being nice. I don’t remember what Don said but I did come up to the station and spent the next 23 years with Action News WSB-TV 2
September 15, 2009 at 2:35 am |
Jim, it is wonderful to read your comment. You have always been one of my favorite people. Whatcha up to these days?Don
March 6, 2012 at 4:09 am |
Don, I don’t think anyone who knew Hal could ever forget his ever present smile, or was it a grin? He was one of the nicest and kindest persons I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and I’ve thought about him often. In fact, I ran across your piece because I just decided to Google him to learn his thoughts on today’s Republican candidates, only to learn I’m nearly two decades too late. Though I was too young to vote when I worked with him at WSB-TV, he and I both sported gold elephant pins with horned rimmed glasses, but, of course, back then, if you were a caring person, you couldn’t be a democrat in the south because it was run by the Dixiecrats, who now have abandoned the Democratic party and hijacked the GOP.
I’m not surprised he died so young because he was constantly smoking those Camel cigarettes, and I might have succumbed to it too, thanks to the engraved, silver zippo lighter he, Brokaw and Fred Briggs, (maybe you too???) gave me as a going away gift that kept me smoking until shortly after I got married. My dear wife didn’t think smoking was good for a diabetic and wanted me to quit, but I liked smoking, and back then, in Virginia, it was cheap! (Don’t know how people afford it today!) Anyway, as newlyweds, we really didn’t want kids right away. As a morning/weekend news anchor, I couldn’t afford kids, and it really would have crimped our social life, so when we sat down to discuss it and determined cigarette smoking could cause pregnancies, I quit cold turkey. It’s true. She said either I quit smoking or she quits the pill! Giving up smoking isn’t easy so if today’s GOP think only women care about contraceptives and birth control, they better think again.
By the grace of God, I’m still not only alive and kicking, but will celebrate a 44th wedding anniversary this year with three grandchildren I never expected to see. As reported in the TampaBay Times last month, Superbowl Sunday was extra special for me this year. The game was okay, but as a top-rated high school soccer referee, I prefer international football. It was special because I celebrated my big 3-0. The 30th time I celebrated my 37th birthday. I’m not just trying to be younger than Jack Benny, reaching 37 years was cause for big celebration since doctors never expected me to live beyond my 36th birthday, so I continue to celebrate it, but it’s getting harder since my daughter turns 37 this year!
March 13, 2012 at 4:27 pm |
I remember him well from his campaign for governor of GA. I still have my blue and white pin from one of Hal Suit’s rallies that I attended that says, “Follow Suit for Governor”. I too had recently returned from service in Viet Nam. His campaign sparked my first real interest in politics.