Salute: Cold War veteran Renaud puts others before himself

For many years, Tavares Cold War veteran Lance Renaud, 79, wouldn’t talk about his time in the service, seeing how veterans used to be treated and how, particularly Vietnam veterans, were greeted when they returned from war.

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Now, instead of hiding it, he seeks to honor other veterans who may have at one time felt the same way.

“It’s not about me,” Renaud said. “It’s about a band of brothers who are now fighting a different kind of war against the enemy of loneliness, aging, suicide, physical disabilities, and a lack of proper respect from the very government we swore allegiance to serve above and beyond the call of duty.”

At the age of 21, Renaud joined the U.S Air Force and trained at Lackland Air Force base in Texas. He originally wanted to be an air policeman, but the troop he joined was being trained for food service instead.

So, he became the best baker, stockroom clerk, office worker and cook he could be. He was then sent over to Dreux Air Force Base in France.

“My responsibilities kept growing and let’s just say I ended up doing things way above my pay grade,” Renaud said.

In Dreux, the base had C-130 rotation squadrons and Army airborne units. The base was also used as a training facility in preparation “for the ever-present threat of nuclear war with Russia.”

“I never saw combat,” Renaud said. “If I had, most likely I wouldn't be here. Europe would have been annihilated by a nuclear holocaust, leaving most European countries in ashes and sackcloth while struggling to survive a nuclear winter. Between the Cuban Crisis and constant skirmishes at the likes of Check Point Charley, along the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain, I’m surprised that we’re still here.”

After serving three and a half years, working his way up the ranks to E4, Renaud was given an opportunity to leave early and serve the remainder two and a half years of his term in the reserves.

“I always say I left with mixed emotions,” Renaud said. “Joy and happiness.”

Renaud returned to Schenectady, New York where he met his wife, Irene, on a blind date. Although she played hard to get, the two finally married and are still together today.

Renaud went to work at General Electric working as a plumber, retiring from there after 33 years and moved to Winter Garden. Lance and Irene enjoy traveling, taking cruises and spending time with their loved ones.

But Lance never lost his respect for those who have served, saying that the real heroes are the POW/MIA who never came back. He joined the American Legion Post 76 in Tavares, following in the footsteps of his father, William Henry Renaud, who served in World War II and became an American Legion Commander. He also became a chaplain and licensed Baptist minister.

“General Douglas MacArthur once said, ‘Old soldiers never die, they just fade away,’” Lance said. “In most cases, we don’t merely fade away. We’re forgotten and history is doomed to repeat itself with different names, faces and places that fail to learn from our mistakes. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t plan to go on quietly into that good night.”

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Cold War veteran Renaud puts others before himself