Ray Lowe Is Veteran Of The Month

By Doug KapkeRay D. Lowe was honored as Jefferson County’s Veteran of the Month for October on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. In addition, he was presented with a Quilt of Valor and a patriotic wall hanging created by Marley Rosener, presented by Rory Roesener.Lowe was born in Cozad on February 26, 1954. The family later moved to Scottsbluff. He had two sisters and two brothers. At age 17 his veteran uncle in Montana suggested Lowe join the Army and get an education. He returned to Nebraska and enlisted in the Army through the Armed Forces Enlistment Center in Denver, Colorado.Private Lowe attended Basic Training at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he obtained his General Education Diploma. His Advanced Individual Training (AIT) was as a Demolitions Combat Engineer at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. At the end of AIT, when he filled out his “Dream Sheet” for the three choices where he would like to serve, he listed Vietnam for choice one and two and Panama for choice three.Combat Engineer Lowe spent most of 1971 through 1974 serving in Panama as a driver qualified to drive Jeeps, 1 1/4T tactical pickups, and 2 1/2T and 5T trucks. Being small in stature, the motor pool sergeant attached wooden blocks to the pedals of the 5T trucks to make driving more manageable for Private Lowe. On Christmas Eve of 1972, his first sergeant had a Christmas party at his home, where ample alcohol was served. At about 11 p.m. they were notified that there had been a massive earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua. After everyone sobered up they immediately began loading heavy equipment, mostly 5T trucks and bucket loaders for a quick deployment. They were the first support unit to arrive and the first five days in Nicaragua were spent receiving some sniper fire while cleaning roadways and digging out dead bodies. The remainder of the 17 days in Nicaragua were mostly spent at the end of shovels because their equipment was mostly rendered useless due to the high number of flat tires.Back in Panama at the 518 Engineer Company at Fort Kobbe, routine duty consisted mostly of driving vehicles and being on beach patrol guard duty. The last four months of duty were spent at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, at a motor pool. His unit frequently demonstrated building floating bridges in the adjacent tidal waters that were full of sewage. Being the smallest soldier E-3 Lowe spent his time in the sewage filled water under the bridges as a pin driver to anchor the bridge parts together.In April, 1974, E-3 Lowe was honorably discharged.Lowe followed a military friend to Pennsylvania and enrolled in the Veteran’s Adjustment Act and worked for the Department of Defense Depot for about 10 years. During this period of time he married, had two children, divorced. At age 45, he moved to Lincoln with one of his brothers to again find meaningful employment. At age 55, Lowe moved to Fairbury, obtained a home in the western part of town and worked for Reinke Manufacturing in Deshler for about 10 years before fully retiring in 2020.Lowe currently lives in Fairbury and appreciates the Veteran Service Office and the Veteran Administration for the hope and medical care they provide on a regular basis to enhance the quality of life for an aging veteran.

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