The Kendall County Board has passed a resolution honoring Herschel “Lucky” Luckinbill, of Montgomery, for a lifetime of community activism to honor and serve veterans.
Luckinbill, a veteran of the Vietnam War, has worked over the years to bring veterans memorials to local communities and served as president of the Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club. Luckinbill is set to move away from Kendall County in the near future, and will be honored with a breakfast at the Oswego American Legion Post this Thursday, Feb. 18 in downtown Oswego.
“When you think of people and veterans in the county that always step up to help other vets to help our community – one of the first people to come to mind is Herschel Luckinbill,” said County Board Chairman Scott Gryder at a board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 16 in Yorkville.
While a machinist mate in the Navy, Vietnamese forces shelled Luckinbill’s ship, the USS O’Brien, in December 1966. Upon leaving the armed forces, Luckinbill had earned the the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Luckinbill then moved to the Fox Valley area with his spouse, Eva, where he raised three children and worked as a union sprinkler fitter in the fire protection industry for 41 years.
“Herschel does a lot of things for veterans – a lot of things that people don’t know,” local Vietnam vet Rick Gardner told the board at Tuesday’s meeting. “He takes food to World War II veterans if they need it. He knows how to reach out and find somebody who can help veterans. It’s not just Herschel but it is his knowledge of what he’s got.”
Over the decades, Luckinbill helped showcase veterans memorials like Healing Field and Vietnam Moving Wall to Oswego and Aurora.
Chad Lockman, superintendent of the Veterans Assistance Commission of Kendall County, told county officials that Luckinbill would often “get lost in what he was saying and in his passion” when discussing his activities to help veterans.
“He was doing this for everyone else,” Lockman said. “It was never about him. Mr. Luckinbill’s selfless dedication to this community and its veterans over the years have been invaluable. He’s going to be sorely missed.”
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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