U.S. Army and Vietnam War veteran Harold Lehman is the October 2025 Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month. Pictured, left to right, are Darryl McDowell, Kosciusko County veteran service officer; Bob Conley, county commissioner; Lehman; and Sue Ann Mitchell and Cary Groninger, county commissioners. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW – A U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam is the Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month for October 2025.

Harold Lehman was born in December 1947 in Stuttgart, Germany, according to Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell in presenting Harold as this month’s Veteran of the Month to the Kosciusko County Commissioners. Harold was one of six children born to Harold and Lucienne Lehman.

He graduated from Columbia City High School and joined the United States Army in August 1966. He was immediately sent to basic training at Fort Polk, La. Following his basic training, he was sent to Fort Eustis, Va., where he was responsible for learning to be a helicopter maintenance technician, McDowell said.

Harold then deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 540th Transportation Company, 14th Transportation Battalion. The 540th began the Theater Aircraft Recovery Program in 1967. A forward-deployed unit would send unserviceable, but repairable, parts to the 540th, “meaning, when an aircraft was down, it was deemed a repairable, those things would come back to the 540th and higher-level GS maintenance, which is another piece there. What it was designed to do is to keep serviceable parts in the supply system in theater in Vietnam, and easily accessible to other units that may need those parts in the future,” McDowell explained.

After completing his active-duty service in the Army, Harold continued to serve the nation in the Indiana Air National Guard, culminating with 32 years of honorable service. He was discharged in February 2005 with the rank of senior master sergeant, receiving numerous recognitions and honors, including Air Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medals.

After Vietnam, Harold came to Kosciusko County and worked as a lathe operator while remaining full-time in the Indiana Air National Guard in Fort Wayne. He continues to devote his time, effort and resources to the American Legion Post 258, Dutchtown Brethren and New Hope Wesleyan Churches.

Harold married Sharon in January 1979 and continues to live in Pierceton.

“Together, they continue to gain strength and happiness from their seven children, 21 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren,” McDowell concluded.

After receiving his framed certificate signed by the commissioners, Harold said, “I don’t know really what to say, except God gave us the U.S. government, and then the government’s job is to protect us from evildoers and to take care of punishing them. And then, also, there’s the military to protect us from outside the United States.”

He said when he was seven or eight years old, he happened to see a jet fighter plane and that’s where it all got started for him.

“I wanted to be in aviation, so I flew in the Army and got a pair of wings there. Air National Guard has worked out – I got to go on flights … and then I went to other places: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt. I got to do my best job as drug interdiction in Panama. What a beautiful place,” Harold said.

He said he was one of those people who were lucky to still be here.