FREDERICKTOWN — It’s not easy to run a covert operation around a military veteran. Ask the Lamb family, and they’ll confirm it’s true. But with the cooperation and coordination of numerous relatives, the family surprised patriarch Russ Lamb on Saturday afternoon at the library in Fredericktown with the presentation of a diploma for graduation with Fredericktown High School’s Class of 1948.
Walking into the community room of the library, Lamb was surprised to find a room full of relatives, friends, reporters and community members, many snapping pictures or running video cameras. He stopped in the doorway and steadied himself against the frame.
“What’s all this?” Lamb asked, as the crowd broke into applause.
Almost 60 years ago, Russ Lamb, by his own account, was a cocky young fellow who thought he knew everything. Thus he wasn’t too worried about leaving high school before graduating in the spring of 1948. There was a war going on in Korea, and Lamb wanted to serve. Six decades later, Lamb vividly recalls his first morning at Fort Jackson in Mississippi.
“I thought I knew more than anybody else did,” Lamb said. “That first morning, I found out I didn’t know sic ’em. My education started at that time.”
After serving as a “rakasan” paratrooper in Korea, Lamb spent a lifetime catching up on the education he never officially completed, becoming an avid reader.
In November 2007, the Mount Vernon News did a feature article about Lamb for Veterans Day. The article mentioned that Lamb had left high school to serve his country and had never gone back to finish getting his diploma. Fredericktown Public School Superintendent Dan Humphrey read the article and realized that, due to his military service, Lamb would be eligible to receive a diploma if Veterans Services could sign off on paperwork confirming his service.
Humphrey’s secretary, Louise Dudgeon, called Keven and Karma Lamb to point this out. Keven, one of Russ’ sons, was eager to surprise his father with the diploma, but to do that, he had to get his father’s service papers. And so the operation began. At its height, the operation included such maneuvers as one son, Jerry, taking the parents out for lunch — another son, Mike, was originally going to do that, but had to work — while Keven got the key and went into the father’s house on Waterford Road to gather his service paperwork. Keven then took the papers to Veterans’ Services in Mount Vernon, who confirmed the army service and sent the paperwork to the school so the diploma could be processed. Later, the sons also had to sneak out their father’s old uniform so it could be displayed during the presentation.
Meanwhile, the ringleaders also planned a get-together at the library for family and friends for the presentation. They hoped the weather would be calm so that Russ’ grandnephew, Capt. Jon Peiffer, could fly up from Tennessee to be present for the ceremony. Peiffer is serving in the same unit his great uncle served in, the 11th Airborne Division. Peiffer, too, is a “rakasan,” the name given the paratroopers by residents of Hokkaido, Japan, where they trained before serving in Korea. The term literally means “ones who fall from the sky under umbrellas.” Peiffer will be heading to Iraq for a one-year tour of duty in May.
Lamb’s wife, Viola, was in on the plan, too, although she inadvertently let it slip a couple of times, according to daughter-in-law Karma Lamb. Karma said Viola never got caught, though, because Russ didn’t hear what she said when she slipped.
On Saturday, it all came together at the library. Peiffer arrived from Tennessee just days after his wife, Ali, gave birth to their son, Michael Lee Peiffer. Although Humphrey couldn’t be there, Fredericktown School Board President Art Dremann was on hand to make the presentation of the diploma.
“On May 17, 1948, your classmates were receiving a diploma,” Dremann said, noting that Lamb was already at Fort Jackson on that day. “And here we are, 60 years later, making this presentation to you.”
Dremann said it was appropriate to do the presentation at the library, as Lamb had made much use of it over the years in educating himself through extensive reading. But instead of presenting the diploma himself, Dremann said he would follow the chain of command, and give the diploma to Peiffer to present.
“From a few people on this planet, much is required,” Peiffer said. “It does my heart good to know that much is given in return to those people.”
He added that Lamb was his inspiration and is the reason he pursues military duty today. From one rakasan to another, the diploma was presented to a round of applause. Lamb’s wife followed it up a few moments later with a kiss.
When someone asked Lamb if he could still fit in his uniform, he decided to give it a try, and grabbed the uniform jacket. He paused while putting it on, as if to pretend he couldn’t get into it, but then smiled as it slipped over his shoulders. Only his bulky sweater prevented him from buttoning up the slim jacket. The family then moved the party down to Sordy’s on Main Street to celebrate with food and ice cream.
