Ralph Gough began working with the Disabled American Veterans when he was medically discharged from the military in 1974, and last month — a half century later — he was recognized for his work.
The Lexington Park resident, who serves as a judge advocate, received an award on April 27 for his 50 years of service with the St. Mary’s DAV Chapter 26 in Lexington Park.
“It’s a wild moment,” Gough said as he sat at a picnic table at the Leonardtown Wharf a few days before the ceremony. “Where has the time gone? I look at it from the time I’ve come in and I look around [now]. A lot of friends have passed on and I wish they could have been here. It’s been rewarding. It makes me feel that that I reached someone [to help].”
“It’s cool,” said DAV Chapter 26 Vice Commander James Williams, who has been a member of the St. Mary’s chapter the past three years. “He won’t tell you but he’s the go-to guy. If you have questions or problems he has the information.”
Gough said the DAV is an important resource for veterans; its website provides a calendar of upcoming events, services and 28 links veterans can click on to access forms and information.
“It’s helped improve communication with other veterans,” he said, “and it does [benefit] claims which helps us increase our compensation, and for those who don’t get compensation it helps them get theirs.”
The DAV Chapter 26 is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at the Local Lodge 4 Machinist Union hall at 21795 Shangri-La Drive in Lexington Park. It has moved a few times over the past couple years.
“We don’t have a home and we’ve been fighting that for years,” Gough said. “And if we did have a home where we could be open eights hours a day or whatever, we as veterans could come in and get together.”
Gough was asked if the DAV is a type of fraternity for veterans.
“Yes it is, and once you get to know [the vets] and they start to come in and there’s a bond that you never break,” he said. “My only downside is that I’ve met a lot of people who went to Vietnam and I had no overseas experience. I’m glad I didn’t [have to go overseas], but it can be hard to bond [with those who have]. They have the stories and I can’t imagine.”
Gough graduated from Great Mills High School in 1968 and was drafted two years later. He was sent to Fort Holabird in Baltimore, then to Fort Dix, N.J., for eight weeks of basic training. He later attended Redstone Arsenal, Missile and Munition Center & School in Huntsville, Ala., before being assigned to the 200th Ordnance Detachment GMGS Unit Training Command to begin on the job training. The GMGS is a type of grenade launcher.
He later went to Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Va., to become a missile repair parts specialist, which he did the rest of his military career and made him eligible for promotion to E-5 Special Fifth Class.
Because of an injury to his foot, Gough received a medical discharge on Oct. 11, 1972.
“It helped me a lot,” Gough said of the services he received from the DAV in the 1970s. “They do it all for you. I’ve stayed around for 50 years just to see if I could help people.”
“It’s the most rewarding job I’ve had,” Williams said. “Every Wednesday my mind is set to help veterans, because every veteran has a different story.”
He began working at the DAV in 1974 and has held several positions, including a stint as commander from 1993-1995.
“As long as I can move and have a little breathe [in me],” Gough said, “I’ll always be there to help people.”
For more about the St. Mary’s County DAV Chapter 26, call 240-925-5439 or go to www.davch26stmarysmd.com.
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