November
08, 1966 - August 21,1999
Let
me tell you a story about a woman that I know. I
had just arrived in Korea for the second time. I was not
delighted about being here the first time but let alone a
second. Well I had been in country for two weeks and was
sent to the M16 range to qualify on my weapon. Being new
no one knows you, they look at you like you are a freak
of nature. Well there was a point that I was sitting at
the bottom of the range smoking a cigarette alone when,
this person walked up to me and said "Hello I am SFC
Balcombe" and she shook my hand. I had seen her all
day there. Now let me tell you about her, she was not
this "Barbie doll" type of woman. She was firm
and has a voice that would carry for miles. When she barked
out things, it made you jump. That is very hard to find
in a female today in the Army. Well when SFC Balcombe
said hello to me, she said it with such warmth and there
was a look in her eyes of a person who truly seemed to
care about people. She had me from hello........ and at
that point she and I began a relationship that I will
never ever forget. She has a genuine concern for people;
Jeanne would put others before herself. Jeanne would ask
me about my kids all the time and wanted to know how my
family was doing. Oh but let me tell you, if you asked
her about her family, boy she was quick to pull pictures
out of her Husband and her two girls Alice and Kristin
and would talk all day about her family. She was so proud
of her children and her husband Mike. Mike to her was her
best friend as well as her lover. My reason for this page
is cause Jeanne was taken from us on 21 of August 1999,
and well I want everyone to know how remarkable she truly
is. She is my role model, one of my good friends that I
will never forget. The last thing that Jeanne said to me
was, I was supposed to go to a Soldier of the Month board,
which I don't like, and I was fretting about it to her.
Before she left for Camp Red Cloud and she was walking
out the door she turned to me and said "SGT Lehman
go to the board, you will do just fine, I know it in my
heart" and she then said "take care and I will
see you soon again". That was the last time I saw
her and she was gone a few days later. I went to the
board on the Friday after her passing and I tied for
first. I know that Jeanne was sitting on my shoulders
that day giving me the confidence that I needed to get
through that board.
.Jeanne,
I want to say thank you for being there when I needed you
and you will always have a special place in everyone's
heart that you have touched, and you have unquestionably
touched my heart.
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