John Lane
John Christopher Lane
John Christopher “Chris” Lane served in the USMC from 1967-1969. He joined the Marines at age 18, telling his recruiter boldly, “send me as far north (in Vietnam) as you can send me”. He served with the First Battalion, Twenty Sixth Marines during the most deadly years of the Vietnam War. He was a Chief S-2 Scout. He survived the Siege of Khe Sanh Tet Offensive of 1968, earning numerous medals including the Navy Commendation Medal 6/15/68. After his tours of duty he struggled to readjust to civilian life. He could never stop living, on some level, in Vietnam. He returned to school and earned an MSW to help Veterans with their problems, a sort of “Wounded Healer” trying to heal himself as well. He eventually became one of the first “Team Leaders” of the Readjustment Counseling Service program, better known as the Vet Center program. Within a few years he was promoted to Regional Manager. His staff respected and admired him greatly for his devotion to fellow Veterans and their PTSD pain. His personal life suffered from his own PTSD, however, and he married and divorced twice. He married a third time in 1991 and became a father to his only child in 1996-his greatest joy. (Our son's middle name is “Freedom”- from the quote, “For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected shall never know”). Chris was one of the Veterans chosen for an in-depth story on PTSD published in the Washington Post dated 3/9/2003 entitled, “Combat's Bitter Revelations”. Regrettably, Chris developed cardiac problems, prostate cancer, and multiple TIA's the last 4 years of his life. Sadly he died at age 56 during the Anniversary of Tet. We greatly miss our Proud Marine who gave so much to our country and to fellow Veterans.