Department of Michigan Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War   Gary L. Gibson Department Commander 1990-1992, 2004-2005

Gary L. Gibson mustered into the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) as a member-at-large, on September 1, 1978, at the age of 16, after responding to an advertisement in Civil War Times Illustrated. He credits Past Commander-in-Chief Fred Combs, Jr. with encouraging him to join the SUVCW, and Past Commander-in-Chief Harry Gibbons with encouraging him to take an active part in the purpose and mission of the Order.

In 1982, Gary helped to organize, and is a charter member of, the Gen. Benjamin Pritchard Camp No. 20 of Kalamazoo and served as its first Secretary-Treasurer. He was elected Camp Commander in 1985, and served three more terms at various times. He has also held the positions of Sr. Vice Commander, Historian and Patriotic Instructor. He is currently the Camp Secretary. On the Department level, he has served as Chairman of the Department Council, Counselor, Sr. Vice Commander, and three terms as Michigan Department Commander. (1990-92, and 2004-2005). During his first term he organized and chartered the Colgrove-Woodruff Camp No. 22, then located at Marshall, Michigan. At the 1992 Department Encampment, he, along with PDC Thayne LaBanta, unveiled the bronze plaque which marks the location of the Department of Michigan, G.A.R. Headquarters office, in the Michigan state capitol building. Gary and PDC Jim Lyons worked together to secure the placement of the plaque.

Gary has held several committee chairmanships for the Department. In the 1980's Brother Gibson researched and proposed the re-adoption of the Department of Michigan's badge, the Civil War 7th Corps badge. This was originally adopted in the 1880's.

Gary has served as the G.A.R. Records Officer since 2008. He is the only three-time recipient of the Department of Michigan's Abraham Lincoln Award. (1997, 2008, 2014). Brother Gibson was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Department of Michigan's first Sons of Veterans Reserve unit, the 30th Michigan Infantry, in the 1990's. He is currently a Private in Co. A, 14th Michigan Infantry, S.V.R.

Gary was elected Commander of the Central Region in 1993.

On the national level, Brother Gibson has served in several offices, including: Chaplain, two terms as Patriotic Instructor, Historian, History Book Coordinator, where he collected and edited material, and then supervised the publishing of the History of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in 1995; and Camp-at-Large and Department Organizer, where he facilitated the organization of the Department of Oklahoma and four camps-at-large - one in Oregon, two in North Carolina and one in Georgia; and a three-year term on the Council of Administration (1998 ಁ 2001). He has been the chairman of several committees, including the first Monuments and Memorials Grants Committee, the 1999 Committee for the Observance of the 50th Anniversary of the Last National Encampment of the G.A.R, and the Program & Policy Committee, being the only brother not to simultaneously hold the office of Sr. Vice Commander-in-Chief while chairing that committee. He also served several years on the Special Committee on Digest. In 2006, as Patriotic Instructor under then Commander-in-Chief Jim Pahl, Gary chaired the committee to develop the first Junior's educational program, which became the Order's training curriculum, Memorial University.

In 2017, Gary was honored with an engraved plaque by the Department of Illinois, SUVCW, in appreciation for his contributions to the revitalization of their department in the 1990's.

Gary claims his right to membership through the service of his great-great grandfather, Sgt. Martin F. Horan. Martin enlisted in Co. H, 4th Michigan Cavalry on July 18, 1862, in Grand Rapids, and was mustered out on July 1, 1865. The 4th Michigan Cavalry is most famous for the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on May 10, 1865, at Irwinville, GA. Following the war, Martin married and settled in Cheboygan, Michigan, using the $200.00 he received for his part in the capture of Davis to purchase land for farming.  Martin was a Charter Comrade of Ruddock Post No. 224, G.A.R. Gary also has several other soldier ancestors, including great-great-great grandfathers Rueben Wertman, Pvt., Co. F, 72nd Ohio Infantry, mortally wounded at Shiloh; Myron Simpson, Corporal, Co. K, 28th Michigan Infantry, and Comrade of John Stark Post No. 249, Hickory Corners, Michigan; James A. Brew, Private, Co. A, 13th Michigan Infantry and Comrade of Hill Post No. 159, of Middleville, Michigan; Great-great grand uncles John C. Horan, Private, Co. M, 10th Michigan Cavalry and Co. D, 8th Michigan Infantry and a Comrade of John A. Logan Post No. 1, Michigan Soldiers' Home, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Patrick Horan, Private, Co. H, 3rd Michigan Infantry, buried in Wood Cemetery at the Milwaukee Soldiers Home. Gary is a Companion of the Ohio Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States; a Past President of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Michigan, and holds a commission as a Colonel in the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

From 1998 to 2017, Gary researched the 125 veterans buried on the Orcutt Post No. 79, G.A.R. lot in Kalamazoo's Riverside Cemetery. Early on, he discovered that 68 of the graves were unmarked. Many of these veterans were indigent, and several died in the Michigan Asylum for the Insane. With only a list of names (most were misspelled) and the dates of burial, Gary researched the veterans and secured Veteran's Administration headstones for all but one of the unmarked graves. Brothers Bill Costello and Gary Swain helped to set the stones when they arrived. The last veteran, John Durfee, served in the 9th and 15th Indiana Infantry. The State of Indiana has no record of his discharge, and the National Archives has officially "lost" his military and pension files. Comrade Durfee was a member of a G.A.R. Post in adjoining Van Buren County, and was known to be honorably discharged at the time of his death in 1901. Gary was able to secure the needed funds from Camp No. 20 to obtain a private purchase headstone for Comrade Durfee. That headstone was set in October, 2017.

Brother Gibson received an Associate of Arts degree in History from Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University, where he majored in Public History.

Gary is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Michigan's Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall & Museum, and is at present the board secretary. He is the Curator of Exhibits for the museum, designing the exhibits and writing the information panels associated with them In February 2021, Gary's book, Kalamazoo County and the Civil War, was published by The History Press. The book chronicles the years leading up to, including, and after the Civil War, and the experiences of the residents of the county. He also documents the five G.A.R. Posts in the county. Over fifty photos, both historic and modern, illustrate the text. Included in the book is the Roll of Honor which lists the 396 men of Kalamazoo County who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.

Gary is married to the former Mary E. (Beth) Fahrenbacher, and they reside in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo. He is a collector of G.A.R. and early SUVCW memorabilia, and recognized as an accomplished historian on the Son of Union Veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic. He was a contributor and proofreader for the books Grand Army Men, and Grand Army Women, both written by Bro. Robert J. Wolz, Department of Ohio.

Brother Gibson is Life Member No. 214.