Forgotten Veteran is Recognized

You see them mysteriously appear on Veteran’s gravesites each year before Memorial Day.  Old ones are removed and new ones replace them.  Who performs this admirable act?  Veterans of the Central Bucks area, perform this flag replacement duty every year in over 25 cemeteries in the Central Bucks County area. For me, it has been a task I have performed for the last few years.  It is a simple task, a gravesite is recognized by the marker or the brass medallion indicating the conflict that the Veteran had served. For the most part, it was a routine task and I had done it in the same several cemeteries.  The routine part of my duty changed for me and one special family in 2012.   I chose to do the Groveland Cemetery in Pipersville which is located next to the Central Bucks Christian Fellowship Church, pastored by Jerry Hutson.  While replacing flags, I found a grave marked only with a Vietnam Veteran medallion.  After placing a flag in the medallion holder, I knelt down looking for a name, brushing aside leaves and flowers and found nothing.  No name, no marking and no idea who this “unknown” soldier was, to me anyway.

I left the cemetery, went home and I later contacted Pastor Hutson to find that it was the grave of Curtis Eugene “Gene” Lamb who had died from an illness in 2007.  As a Veteran, a Vietnam Veteran, I felt a need to ensure that Gene, who I did not know, would have a proper marker on his grave. 

With the Pastor and a Lamb family friend, Doug Reilly, who is himself a Veteran of the Iraq war, I began my quest recognize Gene.  At first, things moved slowly.  I was not able to contact any family members.  Finally, I received the phone number of Gene’s wife, Mary, from Doug and made the contact.  After receiving all of the necessary documents and approval from Mary to pursue this, I submitted a request to the Veterans’ Administration and now, 18 months later, Curtis Eugene Lamb has been properly recognized as a Vietnam Veteran.

Gene lamb was born in Morrilton, Arkansas on December 12, 1947.  He enlisted in the US Army in March of 1968. After a period of training in the states, including Airborne training, he was sent to Vietnam and served in Cu Chi for his one year tour. Gene was discharged in November of 1970.

Gene came home and began working in the construction business. After meeting his wife, Mary, they eventually moved to Pennsylvania where he was the owner of the NCI Concrete Company. After several years, Gene’s health began to fail and he eventually passed away from metastatic prostate cancer on April 2, 2007.  Unfortunately, Gene never went to a Veteran’s hospital and his ailments could have possibly been attributed to the Agent Orange defoliant used in Vietnam.  The family had no insurance, Gene’s illness took a toll on the family’s finances so the gravesite was donated by the church.

He received military honors at his funeral but for some reason, a grave marker was never ordered.  It may have been fate that brought me to this site in 2012, it may have been the luck of the draw.  But on November 10,, 2013, a service was held and Pastor Hutson honored all Veterans on that day with the theme -- “Give honor to whom honor is due”.  A copy of “Chicken Soup for the Veterans soul” was given to each Veteran in attendance. The marker was dedicated and I was fortunate to speak and honor Gene on that day.

In the service, Pastor Hutson, shared his memory of his first encounter with Gene:

“My relationship with Gene mostly centered around Mary (his wife) and her involvement at the church. He loved what she had discovered at church…and as long as she got home in time to wrestle up some grub for him and the ranch hands, he was perfectly content. Through her, I became his “pastor” which was a word he never used. Originally from Arkansas & Texas, he affectionately (I think) referred to me as “Preacher Man.”  He first used this term when he beckoned Mary on a Sunday afternoon to call the “Preacher Man” and see if he would stop by for a chat.  Knowing he was from the southwest and that he was given to having a few brews in his spare time, I asked her whether he had been drinking and if he had a gun on him? Not every husband gets excited about their wife spending time in church. She affirmed that he had put down a few cold ones but assured me that he didn’t have a gun. Gene and I chatted for a few hours about many different topics, but primarily about his military service in Vietnam. Since, I have a brother who early on preferred to suppress these memories, I encouraged him through my good listening skills to open up his heart and freely share about how he felt about that service and how it had affected him over the years since then. As a Pastor (or ‘preacher man’) my primary responsibility is to direct people towards their spiritual need and responsibility before Almighty God, the one true God of the Scriptures.”

“So, I listened intently. Eventually, the discussion led to his spiritual condition and what he understood was his need to be forgiven by God for all of his sins. No one is exempt from that need, because the Bible says “we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” However, since Gene had put down a few more ‘cold ones’ during the time we were hanging out, I understood that the next morning he was probably not going to remember most of the events of the previous day. The decision to be a follower of Christ as outlined in the Bible requires one to weigh out the costs of serving God. Since, Gene was not in a clear thinking state of mind I assured him I would be available at any time to pray with him. I told him to give me a call when he was ready.”

Over the years when I would see him, I would ask if he was ready to make that call. He would often nervously laugh (as people have a habit of doing around ‘preacher men’), and assure me I would be the first person he’d call. After he had been diagnosed with cancer and given just a brief period of time to live, he and I had quite a few meaningful interactions while he was hospitalized. On his last trip to the hospital, he looked to Mary and said “I guess it’s time to make that call.”

As stated on the Sunday before Veterans Day, my preference would have been he made that call earlier. ’ I’m convinced Gene made peace with God, but I’d rather he had been able to live his last years in peace…and enjoy all the other benefits of walking hand in hand with the creator of the universe.”

I did not do this because Gene was a Vietnam Veteran, I did this because he was a Veteran and all Veterans should be properly acknowledged for their service.  I would do it again for any Veteran if the situation arose.   Veterans have an unspoken brotherhood amongst themselves and always will no matter what conflict we served in.  I am happy that I was here to find Gene and I hope his family will be happy in knowing that their loved one has been recognized.