Vietnam Medals Reach Family at Last
April 18, 2008

CLINTON - It took some detective work, but the daughter of a Vietnam War veteran will today receive replacement military medals for those her father earned during the conflict.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., will present a display case full of medallions to Pauline Gibbs of Clinton, daughter of Staff Sgt. James Gibbs.

Gibbs, a lifelong Anderson County resident, did four tours of duty in Vietnam and was wounded twice in action.

His medals were stolen several years ago, "and he never requested they be replaced," Pauline Gibbs said.

After her dad died in July 2003 at 61, Pauline Gibbs said she asked for replacements.

By the time the medals arrived, the family had moved, and initial efforts to contact them were unsuccessful.

New Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet said he found the medals tucked inside an envelope in a cabinet in his office when he started his job last September.

Jaquet said he asked Anderson County Historian Mary "Susie" Harris for help.

Harris said she combed through old courthouse documents, including census records, marriage licenses and voter registration records, and finally located Pauline Gibbs.

"I was pleasantly surprised that the veterans officer took hold of this and ran with it, and the effort he put into it," Gibbs said Thursday.

"I always felt most Vietnam veterans didn't get the recognition they deserve, and this is something toward that," she said.

Wamp this afternoon will present Gibbs with nine medals her father received, including a Bronze Star and a Vietnam Service Medal replete with five service stars.

"I put them (the medallions) in a display box she can hang on the wall," Jaquet said.