Avery Island Veterans Honored for Service at Home and Abroad
By Avery Davidson
Louisiana Farm Bureau News
For generations of American service members stationed overseas, a tiny bottle of TABASCO sauce tucked inside a Meal Ready to Eat has offered more than flavor — it has provided a small taste of home.
At Avery Island, that connection between military service and the iconic Louisiana brand came full circle as seven veterans employed by the McIlhenny Company received the Louisiana Honor Medal during a special ceremony hosted by the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.
Secretary Charlton Meginley said the culture at TABASCO makes it a natural fit for veterans transitioning into civilian life.
“An institution like Tabasco is almost like a natural fit for veterans, because you get to be with the machinery and doing your hands and you're making something, you're producing something,” Meginley said. “And that's what veterans want, right? What is your purpose? And here there's a defined purpose. It's like I am making an iconic worldwide brand right here in my backyard.”
The company’s ties to the military run deep. Christian Brown, senior manager of strategic sourcing and a member of the McIlhenny family, said supporting members of the armed forces has long been important to the company.
“We're just really, really excited to honor these employees today,” Brown said. “And, you know, everything from sending salsa overseas on request to those little glass bottles that some people have seen overseas, just any ways that we can support and provide that taste of home to the armed forces abroad — we're honored to be a part of it.”
Among those honored was Bud Lee, the company’s director of vermiculture and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Lee said his connection to Avery Island stretches back decades through his relationship with former McIlhenny Company CEO General Walter McIlhenny.
“The relationship between this island and myself goes actually back to General Walter McIlhenny,” Lee said. “He was a Marine Corps brigadier general who served in World War II. I knew General McIlhenny personally — a wonderful guy, just an incredible inspiration.”
Walter McIlhenny’s military record was remarkable. Serving at Guadalcanal during World War II, he earned the Navy Cross, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts before later leading the family company for many years.
Lee said another Marine veteran from the McIlhenny family eventually helped shape his own career path.
“I was having a quiet lunch at Avery Island in the delicatessen, and Paul McIlhenny, the CEO at the time, came in,” Lee recalled. “Paul was an old Marine. He and I had been friends for a long time. He knew I had been doing mission work in Haiti, and he asked me if I would consider going to Haiti to grow Tabasco peppers.”
For Meginley, stories like Lee’s highlight why honoring veterans matters.
“I tell people all the time, when you thank a veteran for their service, ask them what's their story,” Meginley said. “Because oftentimes that veteran has something incredible to say, and you will be blown away by some of the things that you're going to learn about what the veteran did, what they did when they came out of service, what they're doing now.”