Remember...
Larry Keith Lee
1952-1972
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived."
George S. Patton Jr.
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Remember...Larry Keith Lee
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| Larry Keith Lee was born on May 21, 1952, in Clifton, Mason County, West Virginia. His father was James Henry Lee (1920-1991), and his mother was Doris Geraldine French Lee (1930-1988). His father served in the U.S. Army in World War II reaching the rank of sergeant. Larry had three brothers, Kenneth Lee (1947-2014), James Ronald Lee, and Daniel Thomas Lee, as well as one sister, Marcia Klein. Larry attended public schools and went to Wahama High School, graduating in the class of 1971. |  |
At the time Larry was growing up, there were about 24,500 people in Mason County in 1960. More than likely, since Mason County is a rural area, most residents were farmers raising cattle and/or crops such as corn. Cities like Point Pleasant would have offered many options for entertainment, including swimming pools, movie theaters, bowling alleys, roller skating rinks, and even a livestock sale every week that drew many people to watch. (Demographic data regarding Mason County can be found at the following site: "Mason County, West Virginia," Family Search, last edited 2 September 2021, accessed 28 January 2022, https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Mason_County,_West_Virginia_Genealogy.)
Larry met Debbie Ann Gibbs and later got married on December 18, 1971, in Clifton, West Virginia. They had one daughter, Keith Ann Lee. The writers of this article gratefully acknowledge numerous conversations with Debbie Lee.
Before Larry Keith Lee was born, a large conflict between two powerhouses of the world was beginning to brew. This conflict was known as the Cold War. Seven years prior to Lee's birth, the Soviet Army conquered Berlin, Germany. Two months later, multiple European Allied powers occupied Eastern Germany. On July 4, 1945, U.S. troops took charge of their occupation sector in Southwest Berlin. Many years later, between June and November of 1961, the Berlin Crisis occurred. The Berlin Crisis was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War regarding the occupational status of Berlin, Germany, and of post-WWII Germany. This occurred when the USSR issued an ultimatum demanding all armed forces in Berlin to withdraw. This culminated in the city's de facto partition with the East German sector and the building of the Berlin Wall. In 1962, U.S. troops were stationed in multiple communities in Germany, and they have been stationed throughout Germany to this day.
Larry joined the Army in May of 1972 to help support his family. He underwent basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and soon after he completed Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. After completion of his training, Lee was assigned to the 7th Engineer Brigade, where he worked as a Bucket Loader Operator, 359, in Company A of the Brigade's 237th Engineer Battalion in Heilbronn, Germany. (MOS descriptions and codes can be found at the following site: "Army Air Force WWII Codes, The Military Yearbook Project, accessed 28 January 2022, https://militaryyearbookproject.org/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army-air-force-wwii-codes/aaf-mos-codes-wwii-era.)
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After a few short months in the Army, Private (PV2) Larry K. Lee, unexpectedly passed away one evening after going out with friends. He left behind his wife, Debbie Ann Gibbs Lee, who was 16 at the time, and his 7-month-old daughter, Keith Ann Lee. Larry's body was returned to the U.S., where he was laid to rest at Graham Cemetery in Graham Station, Mason County, West Virginia in December 1972. He will always be remembered as he is memorialized on the West Virginia Veterans Memorial located in Charleston, West Virginia. |
Article prepared by Gavin McGee and Noah Kirk, George Washington High School JROTC
January 2022
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.