JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Veterans who served in World War II are often referred to as the "Greatest Generation" for their efforts in fighting to save the free world from the Axis Powers.
In this week's Stories of Service, we meet a Navy veteran who has made it his mission in life to give World War II veterans the opportunity to walk the steps of their service one more time.
"I am a Navy veteran," Christopher Lehman told First Coast News. "I have two sons who are Marines, my two brothers were [in the] Navy, my father was [in the] Navy, [and my] great-grand father was [in the] Navy, in the Union Navy."
Yes, that's the same Union Navy that dates back all the way to the Civil War, so it's safe to say that Lehman has close ties to the Navy.
Nowadays, Lehman serves those who serve by being chairman of the Landing Craft Support Museum in Vallejo, Calif.
In the present day Navy, LCSs are Littoral Combat Ships, which are relatively small and being phased out by the Navy. The acronym was something completely different in the 1940s; LCSs were Landing Craft Support ships back then.
"It had more firepower per ton than a battleship," said Lehman. "And it was designed to go in with the invading troops all the way in providing close gunfire support to the Marines and Army as they went ashore."
Lehman and the LCS Museum recently hosted World War II veterans and their families on a military tour through Jacksonville, which included stops at the Veterans Memorial Wall and Naval Station Mayport. The chance to walk aboard a ship at Mayport brought back memories for these sailors, some nearing 100-years-old.
"And that first step aboard the ship, it all came rushing back and the grandchildren enjoyed seeing the ship, seeing the guns and hearing some of the stories, very rewarding," Lehman said.
The National World War II Museum estimates that more than 130 American World War II veterans die every day, so thank you to people like Christopher Lehman, a veteran himself, for helping those veterans rekindle their memories of service.
More information about the Landing Craft Support Museum can be found here.
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