Lieutenant Colonel Nate Dougall, CT Army National Guard Reserve (left). Lieutenant Commander Phil Delgado, U.S. Navy (Retired), VFW Post 399 Quartermaster (c). Sergeant First Class Buyile Rani, CT Army National Guard (Retired) (r).

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

We all love Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. A day of picnics, barbecues, hitting the beach for the first time this year, shopping the big holiday sales, and of course, starting with Westport’s beloved parade. As nice as those things all are, it is important to not lose sight of what Memorial Day really is. The day the nation gathers to honor those who have served and fought defending America, and those who continue to do so.

We look to the history from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs which states: Memorial Day, a federal holiday held the last Monday in May, is the nation’s foremost annual day to mourn and honor its deceased service men and women. Originally called Decoration Day, it was formalized by a “Memorial Day Order” issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan in 1868. The modern proclamation calls on Americans “to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.”

The history begins at the conclusion of the Civil War after which for years cited over 360,000 Union soldiers killed and 258,000 from the South, a figure historians now claim is in fact too low. On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically powerful organization of Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan — issued General Orders No. 11 or the “Memorial Day Act.” This issuance formally established “Memorial Day” as a Decoration Day on which the nation would remember its war dead and decorate their graves with flowers. In fact, for many years the holiday was known as Decoration Day.

Each year the organizers select a veteran to honor, one who has served with great distinction, honor and valor. For as long as anyone can remember, Korean War veteran Bill Vornkahl who was the driving force for the event for half a century and was closely involved in the selection of Grand Marshall. “Mr. Parade” as he was known for decades sadly passed away last year but the tradition he helped thrive has carried on. This year Charles P. Lamb, Jr. was honored as Grand Marshall.

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

The bio provided to WestportLocalPress of Lt. Charles P. Lamb, Jr. is rather impressive and remarkable for his service to our country, his many accomplishments, and his years of devotion to our town warrants a careful review.

Charles Perry Lamb, Jr. was born in Springfield, IL in 1928 and moved to Sycamore, OH where he graduated high school..  He joined the Navy in 1946 at age 17 as part of the Naval Aviation College Program.  That offered free college and a chance to be a Naval Aviator, but required a rigorous 3-day test.  It was the same program that Neil Armstrong took to become an astronaut.  Only 2 people out of more than 20 people who trained for the test were accepted to the program.  They were Charles Lamb and his best friend Dale Campbell. They were both admitted to Bowling Green University (OH) where they studied courses specified by the Navy that included writing, spherical trigonometry, and physics. In 1948 they were sent to Pensacola Naval Air Station where they officially became Midshipmen and started ground school.  Flight training began In February 1949.  The first time he ever was in a plane, he was the pilot.  He then learned to land planes on aircraft carriers.  Later he was sent to NAS Corpus Christi for advanced training for multi engine patrol planes. (PB4Y-2)

In March 1950, at age 21, he was designated by the Naval Air Training Command as a Naval Aviator. Eventually, he amassed over 2000 hours of flight time, earning 2 medals, each representing 20 aerial combat missions during the Korean war.  That while rising to the rank of Navy lieutenant. After the Navy, he completed his under-graduate studies at Kent State University, where he met and married Alberta Cifolelli.  They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary prior to her death in 2021.

After the marriage, Alberta and Chuck moved to Indianapolis, IN where he was a test driver for Chrysler, often testing the cars for speed on the Indianapolis 500 track. In 1960 they moved to Cleveland, OH, where Charles worked for Cleveland Pneumatic on the team that designed the landing gear for the iconic Boeing 707. During that time, he also completed his M.A. in engineering at Case-Western Reserve.  By the time the family moved to Connecticut In 1970, they had three sons, Mark, John & Todd, who became Staples High School graduates.  He also has two grandchildren.  Charles still lives in the house they bought at Saugatuck Shores in 1971.

In Connecticut, Charles was Director of Quality Control for Dorr Oliver in Stamford, then worked for Composition Materials in Fairfield, and finally started his own business, Lamb & Associates, which made repairs to city waste systems.  In Westport, Charles Lamb Jr. served on the RTM from district 1 and on the Zoning Board of Appeals.  He was also a youth basketball coach.

After retirement, he took a writing class at Norwalk Community College.  He then wrote and edited a book that included stories about his Navy experiences entitled “Lives – a Soundwriter’s Anthology.”  That led to him being named President of NCC’s Lifetime Learners for more than 5 years.

In 2022, the State of Connecticut recognized Charles Lamb for his patriotic service to his country during the Korean War-era. “

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

Selectwoman Jen Tooker opined upon Memorial Day and Lt. Lamb, beginning by saying, “Before I start my comments I’d like to highlight our Poet Laureate, Jessie McEntee and her contribution to today’s memorial. She has chosen an excerpt of “The Parade” by Billy Collins,

The Parade – BY BILLY COLLINS

How exhilarating it is to march along the great boulevards

in the sunflash of trumpets and under all the waving flags— the flag of ambition, the flag of love.

So many of us streaming along— all of humanity, really— moving in perfect step, yet each lost in the room of a private dream.

Tooker continuted, “Before we begin, I want to acknowledge and thank the organizers of this event.  The group is slightly different this year with members of the VFW, the Parks and Rec department and my own office, the First Selectwoman’s office.  They had big shoes to fill but they did it so very well – thank you!  As many of you know, we recently lost Mr. Parade – Bill Vornkahl.  He was a true Westport legend, who passed away in January at the age of 93. A veteran of the Korean War, Bill’s dedication to Westport and its veterans is well known throughout our community. It was Bill, who served as the chair of Westport’s Memorial Day Parade since 1970, who chose the American Flag as the theme for this year’s parade just before he passed.” “The brutal reality of war is front and center every day on the news. It’s a stark reminder to us all that we can’t take our freedom for granted. While those of us who have never served can never really understand what that means, we know that our veterans represent the best of America, the diversity of its people, and the virtues and ideals that make our country great.”

“As we stand here today, we are surrounded by the memorials to the Westport residents who died in battle. We are here to pay homage to them. To the many veterans who are here with us on this Memorial Day, the families of those who served, and the American servicemen and women serving around the world today, we thank you.”

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.

Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.