Veteran recalls days of service on Memorial Day

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, when we, as a nation, honor those who died to preserve our freedoms.
While the dead is traditionally honored on this day, there are thousands of men and women who fought still living. LaVonne Lucas of Russellville is one of them.
Lucas served in the U.S. Army for seven years before getting out to raise her family. She joined the Army in 1986, only six months after completing high school.
"I always knew I wanted to go into the military," Lucas said. "My brother was in the service and I was in awe of him."
After signing on, she was shipped to Ft. Jackson, S.C., for basic training and over the course of her military career, Lucas was assigned to three different posts including to tours in Germany.
Lucas spent her days working in the administrative offices for the Army.
"I worked in the records department," Lucas said. "I did Officer Records for a while and that was fun."
Lucas also served in Desert Storm in 1991.
"My middle child is a Desert Storm baby," Lucas said. "I was pregnant when we went over there but I didn't know."
Lucas spent 40 days in the desert and returned home.
"Desert Storm was a short war," she remembers. "We weren't there very long."
Lucas decided to get out of the Army life after her experiences with Desert Storm.
"My husband and I were both deployed to Iraq at the same time, and our child had to stay with family," Lucas said.
She decided the best thing was to be available to her children.
"I didn't want to be separated from my kids ever again," she said. "That's why I got out."
Even though she did not retire with the military, Lucas said that serving her country has given her great pride.
"I love serving my country," she said. "I'm not just saying that. It has made me more patriotic because I know what freedom costs."