AFRH-G Resident Highlight - Arthur G. Lehmann, Jr.

By Dan Ellis | Resident

Art was born on March 24, 1947 in Long Beach, California to Arthur and Alice Lehmann.  He has one sister and two brothers. Art was known as "Little Art" by family members as he grew up since he was named after his father.  However, he grew up to be 6'3" and 245 pounds, so he wasn't so little anymore. 

From his home in Los Alamitos, California, he matriculated through Laurel Elementary and Orange View Junior High School and graduated from Western High School in Anaheim, California.  During these educational pursuits, he was credited with nine varsity letters in football, wrestling and track.

Art went on to Fullerton Junior College in Fullerton, California where he achieved further gains in football as the Junior College National Champions and played in the Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on December 11, 1965.  Fullerton College beat Henderson County College, Texas, 20-15.

Having gained a scholarship, Art went on to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah attending for one and a half years before going home due to his father's illness.  While at home, and having received a draft notice, he decided to enlist into the U.S. Army.

Art entered the Army on April 16, 1968 and took basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Ord, California as a personnel management specialist.  He had tours in Vietnam, Pentagon, Hawaii, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, Korea, Arizona, Texas, Germany, Washington and Japan. 

While holding top positions as first sergeant at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, Art won the commander’s marching banner for five consecutive months.  The post commander retired the banner and awarded it to 1SG Lehmann for permanent display in the company area. 

Art was selected to attend the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in Fort Bliss, Texas, where he graduated from Class 30 and received the General Ralph E. Haines, Jr. Award for Outstanding Student Research. 

He was reassigned to the Army Personnel Center in Alexandria, Virginia, where he was the sergeant major of the NCO education system responsible for soldiers training and development.  After a year, Brigadier General Fred Vollrath selected him to become the sergeant major of the enlisted personnel management directorate, which is responsible for all enlisted personnel assignments, promotions, training and professional development.  This is one of the top positions in the Army for a personnel sergeant major, where he briefed the sergeant major of the U.S. Army, major commands and soldiers worldwide on Army policies and soldiers' development.  While there, he received the General Horatio Gates Medal, awarded for outstanding service in the Adjutant Generals Corps.

While assigned at Fort Lewis, Washington as the sergeant major for personnel, he was selected as a command sergeant major and reassigned to Camp Zama, Japan where he was the 17th Area Support Group sergeant major and Camp Zama sergeant major responsible for all Army soldiers assigned to the camp.  One of his duties was to coordinate NCO development with the Japanese Army's NCO's in order to build lasting relationships. 

Art received an Associate of Science degree from the University of New York in 1979 and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri in 1983.

After more than 26 years, Art decided to retire.  During his career, he had received several awards, including two Legions of Merit, Bronze Star, four Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal and other service ribbons.

On September 1, 1994 he retired at Winlock, Washington where he delved into salmon and steelhead fishing in the Lewis River, which runs into the Columbia river.

But not all play, Art was employed as a regional manager for Olsten Staffing Service and managed five different offices around Seattle, Washington.  There he provided temporary employees to companies that did not want full time employees or was a stepping-stone to full time employment to a company.  He was later employed by U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, Minnesota as manager of temporary employees.

 He fondly retells that while at home on emergency leave from Vietnam, he met his future bride, Janet, and followed up with a letter-writing campaign to woo her.  They married at Fort DeRussey, Honolulu, Hawaii on August 3, 1970, during his R&R.

In 2003, the family moved to Mesquite, Nevada where the warm weather was more suitable for Janet's health.  She had been diagnosed with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

They moved to The Villages, Florida in 2007, where together they golfed, went to movies, read, traveled and worked on Janet's prime projects.

Art had a stroke in 2013 which left him with a speech impediment and ended his public speaking engagements.  In 2018, Janet passed away.  Art was not prone to live alone and did not want to place pressure on his adult children, so he decided to move into the AFRH in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Art has two children; Jennifer and Daniel, two grandchildren; Zack and Devin, and two great grandchildren; Leah and Braxtyn.