Service motivates Brigadier General Lutz
By Fabvienen Taylor
MADISON — For many people, the true meaning of Memorial Day is lost in its hype as the the beginning of the summer season — long, warm days filled with cookouts and visits to ballparks.
But Memorial Day, the last Sunday in May, is more than that. A national holiday, formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service and is historically marked by the visiting of the graves of deceased veterans, holding parades and memorial celebrations.
Americans need to put the “memorial” back into Memorial Day, according to Brigadier General Catherine Smith Lutz, whose voice joined a chorus of national leaders urging people not to forget honoring deceased and living veterans as well as active military members.
Lutz, Mississippi’s first female brigadier general in the Mississippi National Guard, was the keynote speaker at the 14th annual Memorial Day Celebration at Wright & Ferguson Parkway Memorial Cemetery on Friday, May 22.
The official holiday is the last Sunday in May which this year fell on the 24th. Federal and state governments celebrate Sunday holidays on the following Monday (May 25).
Inclement weather drove the outdoor celebration on the cemetery grounds to inside the funeral home on Friday. Over 500 veterans lie in the cemetery, each grave marked with a small flag.
General Lutz said Memorial Day gives people the opportunity to pay tribute and to remember the gallantry and bravery of the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price to guarantee Americans the blessings of liberty and freedom.
She urged people to take their children to services so they can learn and experience what the holiday really means.
A Jackson native, Lutz, who is married to Brigadier General William Lutz, was named to her post on Jan. 12.
She and her husband live in Flora and are members of Canton Sacred Heart Parish, her husband’s home parish.
Catherine Smith Lutz graduated from Wingfield High in 1973 and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1977.
Her parents are Hugh Smith of Brandon and Marjorie Jaap of Jackson.
In 1983, she was commissioned in the Mississippi Air National Guard as a flight nurse. Later she earned a master’s degree in nursing administration and in 1998, a doctor of higher education from the University of Mississippi.
She grew up in Jackson St. Therese Parish with siblings — Hughey Smith, Louis Smith, Michael Anthony Smith and Joanne Jaap.
“I was raised Catholic and believe in a higher power,” said Lutz during the reception following Friday’s celebration. “I believe in the Golden Rule, in treating people the way you want to be treated, and I believe in a life of service. The military and nursing are two ways I can give service to those around me and to God.”
Marjorie Jaap didn’t realize the extent of her daughter’s work until newspaper and magazine articles started rolling in after her promotion to brigadier general.
“She does so much. People have sent me numerous papers — one from Flora, the Rankin General News and the Canton newspaper. She has been in the Clarion Ledger several times and will be on the cover of the magazine Metro Christian Living with her husband.
“I didn’t realize everything she had been doing, she doesn’t talk about it that much. She has been in a lot of places.”
Some of the highlights of Brigadier General Catherine Lutz’ career are: as a member of the Air National Guard, General Lutz commanded three units: an Air Expeditionary medical unit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an aeromedical evacuation squadron and a medical squadron.
In 2004, she transferred to the Air Force Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentee program after serving over 21 years in the Mississippi Air National Guard.
During her Air Force Reserve tour she served as the Health Services Administrator to the 81st Medical Group at Keesler Air Force Base.
In October 2005, she returned to the Air National Guard as Special Assistant to the Mississippi Adjutant General.
In March 2006, she was assigned as the Air National Guard Assistant to the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
On Dec. 1, 2008, she began her current tour at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Chief Nurse of the Air Force.
Her major awards include: Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (with one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), Combat Readiness Medal (with three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters), National Defense Service Medal (with one Bronze Star) Air Force Longevity Service Award (with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters) and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with Silver Hourglass).
Later she earned a master’s degree in nursing administration and in 1998, a doctor of higher education from the University of Mississippi.
