Omar N. Bradley, former General of the Army once eloquently said, “Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.”
For a soldier this is a way of life.
We show soldiers gratitude for their courage with holidays like Memorial and Veterans Day, but it’s a soldier’s individual story that allows us to understand what they’re really putting on the line to protect our freedom.
Sgt. Tommy Lemastus was a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant. He served his country faithfully in the U.S. Air Force Medical Field in numerous positions and facilities in Hawaii, Japan, and around the nation. He was a parachutist with over a 100 jumps and was awarded many citations and awards including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Vietnam Cross for Gallantry.
Yet, he was also a devoted father, husband, and grandfather who loved cats, reading, gadgets, and had a bachelors degree in zoology and a masters in education. He also was a man of quick wit who had a large following on his Facebook Page as Mr. Magoo.
Sadly he passed in April of 2015 and to honor what he sacrificed to so other Americans can have the freedom to get college educations and make funny jokes on social media, his family, and a fellow veteran named Andrew Powell decided to honor him in the most heartwarming of ways…
This is the footlocker of Sgt. Tommy Lemastus, who served in the Korean War. He used it during his deployment to Japan in support of Operation Gyroscope.
Unfortunately it was misplaced and left outside in a field for years. It was recovered by one of his daughters.
Andrew Powell, a fellow vet, offered to restore the footlocker to honor Sgt. Lemastus as a memorial to the late solder’s service.
He noticed the face still retained the original stencil lettering, but it was badly faded. He could tell it used to have leather handles, but they were completely gone. The top of was coated with a green house paint, so he couldn’t tell if there were any original markings.
The back of the footlocker had an inscription with Sgt. Lemastus’ name, his roster number, and a note that it had been shipped out of Fort Bragg, NC.
Essentially, the footlocker was in pretty bad shape.
“The disassembly of the footlocker was quite time consuming because the entire piece was fastened by rivets,” he wrote on Imgur. Because of this, each rivet had to be drilled out in order to break it down.
The aluminum footlocker got a polish to bring back a shine that hasn't been seen since the war. He replaced the old rivets with new 500 aircraft grade ones.
The footlocker’s tray was missing, so he decided to make a tray out of oak with a flag I had during his OEF deployment.
He restored the outside with leather handles and painted stenciled lettering on the backside to match how it looked originally.
He did a great job, but what he did on the inside is truly inspiring.
He turned it into a stunning memorial.
He lined the tray with patches and awards Sgt. Lemastus earned during his service.
“Yes that is an enlisted paraglider patch!” Andrew notes.
“Sgt. Lemastus served as a paratrooper prior to the Korean War and was qualified as a glider paratrooper until gliders were removed from the force,” he says.
Yet that's not all he did.
The family provided photos of the Sgt. Lemastus' life. Andrew restored the photos and applied them to a foam core sheet with black velour.
He then attached the photos to the lid, creating a gorgeous memorial for a very brave soldier.
What do you think?
Please SHARE if you think this was a beautiful memorial that every soldier deserves!
