Twists and turns: Chelsea resident Eddie Burchfield shares about his life as a soldier, musician and evangelist

Eddie Burchfield is recognized by many drivers passing through Chelsea as he stands on the side of U.S. 280 holding a “God Loves You” sign and flies an American flag on his truck. 

Until the age of 12, Burchfield’s goal was to be a soilder. Both of his parents served during World War II. His father was in the 12th Cavalry Regiment that fought in the Pacific conflict. His mother was in the Women’s Army Corps, where she worked as a parachute packer.

But when Burchfield started playing guitar at age 12, he decided he wanted to pursue music and was no longer interested in the military.

Born and raised in Bessemer, Burchfield graduated from Bessemer High School in 1968. Knowing he would get drafted if he didn’t go to college, he enrolled at Bessemer Tech, where he took machine, tool and die classes. Once those were complete, he had no fallback plan. After five prior draft letters, Burchfield answered the call at age 21. 

“I got the letter and had to show up for a physical in Montgomery in November 1971,” Burchfield said. “I went to Fort Polk, Louisiana [now Fort Johnson], and it was a good place for Vietnam training.”

He was sent to San Diego in March 1972 and was in the transfer portal to be sent to Vietnam, but as he was awaiting transfer, the Red Cross stepped in because his father had cancer. Three months later, Burchfield was moved to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. 

Burchfield’s first role was in the U.S. Army National Guard, as a clerk typist in the educational facility. However, he was later fired from that job after he lost interest and stopped showing up. 

One day, while he was cutting grass and painting barracks, he heard the 55th Army Band practicing. Being a music lover, he decided to audition.

“I couldn’t read music, but they had the chord notes and I just jazz-bassed it all the way through,” Burchfield said. “They said, ‘That ain’t the way it goes, but it sounds good,’ and I was hired on as a bass player in the army band. We played graduations, malls and places to recruit.” 

However, old habits die hard, and after he was arrested by the city of Huntsville for selling drugs to the band in 1973, Burchfield received an honorable discharge from the military in November of that year. He got involved with another band and sold and used drugs until he turned his life around in 1975.

Burchfield said that he rarely went to church growing up and he loved the rock-and-roll scene. He wasn’t looking for anything else to fulfill him in life, but after getting married and having a child, it made him think.

Not long after his wife became a Christian, she gave Burchfield an ultimatum to either go to church with her or go somewhere else. He agreed to go to a Sunday night service with her on June 8, 1975, but said if anyone said anything about the way he looked or smelled, he would leave. 

He was high when he arrived, but the visit didn’t go as expected. Everyone was friendly to him, and during the testimony service, he became convicted and was saved that night. He still gets emotional telling his story 48 years later. 

“God immediately delivered me and I’ve never wanted drugs or alcohol since,” he said.  

Three months after that church service, Burchfield enrolled at Jefferson State Junior College and studied agribusiness. After obtaining a degree in horticulture and landscaping, he got a job in Mobile with the Soil Conservation Service, where he lived for 15 years.

Burchfield felt the call to preach and attended a bible training institute. He became a licensed evangelist in 1985 and also joined the Army National Guard, where he was hired with the 711 signal battalion in Mobile as a multi-channel radio operator. 

The army sent him to attend chaplain school in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and upon his return home, he was hired to fill the role of army chaplain for five years, until 1992. He was also able to spread the gospel in Korea during this time.

Burchfield retired from his civilian career with the Alabama Department of Transportation in 2015, after a 32-year career as a surveyor.

After moving to Chelsea in 2020, during Covid, Burchfield began a roadside ministry called Sign Language, where he would park his truck along U.S. 280 in the Chelsea area and put up his American flag and signs letting people know Jesus loves them. 

Many people honk as they pass by, and others stop to speak and pray with him. Burchfield said he has continued this ministry out of obedience and said he doesn’t feel there’s an end to it.

Through his nonprofit ministry, Fresh Fire Evangelism, Burchfield shares his message on three radio stations. He also serves as head chaplain for Chelsea Fire department (since 2012), as a chaplain for Shelby Baptist Health System and on the Church of God Chaplains Commission.

“God has always made a way, and people have been very kind and helped me stay in the field,” he said.  

Now 73 years old, Burchfield said he has a lot of irons in the fire but has no plans of slowing down. He said he can look back and see the cause and effect of God's miracle in his life. 

“I’ve been a chaplain, an evangelist and ordained minister. I've been serving the Lord for 48 years and I'm excited as ever was,” he said. “I love loving Jesus and he loves loving me, and I’m a happy man.”