Not too long ago, I read a disturbing post on LinkedIn. The author said spending time at work to excel in order to develop and leave a legacy was a fallacy created to encourage others to work more than they should, or something like that. As proof of this thesis, he offered the fact that few people know the names of their great-grandfather. He concluded that in 100 years, no one will remember you, so it is better to spend your time at home with your family than putting in extra effort at work.
-Public domain image retreived from the National Library of Medicine at http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101416449
Later in the day, I read the story of Leonard Crouch who lived in my town. He was a well respected engineer on the Kilkenny Railroad, an old logging railroad that started less than half a mile from my home. Crouch was killed in a train crash on a cold, rainy day when a number of factors converged to overwhelm his skill as a train driver. The Kilkenny Railroad ceased operations in 1894. The fact that Crouch is remembered and still talked about in 2025 shows he left behind a legacy.
A short way in the other direction, there is a community recreation field and field house. The property and an endowment were left to the town by COL Francis Town, a Civil War surgeon who died in 1923. Thousands of people in the area remember COL Town and use his home and backyard every year. Clearly, he left an important legacy.
In both these stories, neither man have great-grandchildren to remember them. Yet many people do remember them. Your legacy does not have to be work related, but one thing a legacy requires is doing more than is expected to make a difference in the lives of other people. Volunteer coaches, scout masters, 4-H leaders, teachers, and professional leaders all leave some sort of legacy behind. People may not remember the names in 100 years, but they will still talk about the results those people achieved during their life times.
I once read a quote attributed to Ronald Reagan to the effect of, “Most people live their entire lives wondering if they made a difference in the world. Veterans don’t have that problem.” If I remember correctly, it was at the Veterans Memorial in Bethel, ME.
American Veterans know they make a difference in the world. US Noncommissioned Officers are the envy of military units around the world. Military service in both peace and times of war is difficult. Every member who served, even if others do not remember their names specifically, have a legacy in the units they served.
There was a time in the Army that senior NCOs would pass a sword back to their Commander upon the end of their tour, and for the Commander to pass the sword to the new senior Sergeant. The sword is a traditional symbol of NCO leadership. A line in the ceremony marking the importance of the NCO’s legacy was, “First Sergeants,” or, “Sergeants Major come and go, but the unit lives on.”
-The Institute of Heraldry
In 1968, 3rd Battalion (BN), 197th Field Artillery Regiment (FAR) of the New Hampshire National Guard was called to serve in Vietnam. The 197th FAR traces its linage to Bunker Hill. While in Vietnam, the battalion became a well respected artillery unit by the line units supported by their artillery fires. In their year of service, the 197th lost nine men, five in one day, who have become known as the Manchester Five. The commander of Bravo Battery, CPT Roland Labonte was one of those killed during that year. There is a small shack in front of the New Hampshire National Guard Headquarters, hidden today by the pine trees growing around it. That building is all that remains of Camp Labonte named after the deceased commander of B Battery.
If you ever happen to attend a Memorial Day Ceremony (held on 30 May at 1100 every year) at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, you will find a group of 3d BN veterans at the Vietnam Monument. They are aging and no longer the young Soldiers they once were. If you take a moment to talk to they, you will find they still have a spark in their eye, and the youth returns to their smiles as they share fond memories of their time together.
Not too long ago, 3d BN returned from another one year combat tour in our nation’s continuing fight against terrorists. CPT Labonte’s legacy played an important role in the unit’s success during that mission, and other prior combat missions. Two Command Sergeants Major completed their initial military leadership training at Camp Labonte in 1986 and led the Battalion on two combat missions later in life. Each reinforced the important lessons learned in combat by the Vietnam Soldiers to help the War on Terror Soldiers succeed. The senior NCOs in the Battalion were all led by those Sergeants Major during their career.
-US Army photo
Legacies are created, not by unnoticed work with stuff. Legacies are created by doing things that make the lives of others better. You actually have to do something for people worth remembering. People who go out of their way to lead are remembered. Those that led have their legacy carry forward, even if their names are eventually forgotten. Their legacy is marked by virtue of the character of those they led. Veterans make a difference, and that is why we take time each Memorial Day to remember those that die defending freedom. They made a difference. Even if the only time we remember their names is when they are read on monuments on Memorial Day, their legacy lives on in the freedom we enjoy every day.
On this Memorial Day, remember the nine Soldiers from the 3D BN, 197th FAR who died in Vietnam:
SFC Raymond Mroczynski,
CPT Roland Labonte,
SGT William Gray,
CPL Mark McManus,
SFC Richard Raymond,
SSG Richard Genest,
SGT Gaetan Beaudoin,
SGT Guy Blanchette, and
SGT Roger Robichaud.
References
COL Town Recreation. (ND). COL Town Building Sign. COL Town Recreation Department. Lancaster, NH.
Gove, B. (2010). Logging railroads of New Hampshire’s north country. Bondcliff Books. Littleton, NH.
MacKin, J. (2019). Five national guardsmen from Manchester killed in Vietnam 50 years ago Monday. WMUR. https://www.wmur.com/article/five-national-guardsmen-from-manchester-killed-in-vietnam-50-years-ago-monday/28823220. Retrieved 5/23/2025.
Personal conversations with Soldiers of the 3d Bn 197th FAR
The Virtual Wall, (2019). Roland Charles Labonte. The Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial. https://virtualwall.org/dl/LabonteRC01a.htm. Retrieved 5/23/2025
US Army. (ND). Lineage and honors: 3d battalion, 197th field artillery regiment. Army Center for Military History.
