Alexandria’s Very Own “Flash”

By Lani Gering

“The mysterious power known as the Speed Force is an energy field that has, over the centuries, granted incredible powers of velocity to certain heroes.”

While 79 year-old Fred Lash aka “Flash” doesn’t don a full body red leotard and zip around like the speed of light, he certainly is a force of energy. He came into our realm when Last Word columnist, Miriam Kramer – “Mim” to Fred – introduced us to her long-time family friend in order to facilitate some promotion for the Little Theatre of Alexandria’s (LTA) upcoming 90^th Anniversary celebration. Fred is volunteering his time as Governor for Public Relations.

After an email intro and a couple of phone calls, Fred and I made a coffee date to meet in person and talk about how we could work together promoting the LTA. I don’t really know what I expected but I knew the moment I saw this “George Burns” cool looking guy approaching the table, it had to be Fred. Those of you readers under 40 might have to google George so you understand the reference.

I knew immediately I was in for a treat. Fred exudes enthusiasm and is passionate about the theatre and life in general. He is an entertainer both on stage and off and it doesn’t appear he is a stranger to anyone. When I asked if he would let the OTC profile him, he gladly accepted. (Flash with cocktail in hand: Portraying Beverly Westin in “August: Osage County” at Little Theatre of Alexandria.)

While I have a tendency to make “assumptions,” – I know, bad word – when I sat down with Fred for this interview, I fully expected to hear about all his career in the theater. Well…I couldn’t have been more off base. Fred retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 24 years of service and he is the recipient of three purple hearts resulting from being wounded in action three times in the Vietnam War. A little more on this later.

When I asked how he came to be so involved in the theater, it all sort of came together. Born and raised in southern Indiana, both of his parents were very fond of music and art (his father sang in a Glee Club called the Elks Chanters that sang all around the state and his mother was an artist) so music and entertaining are in his blood. Fred followed his passion for theater in high school while still excelling at math which led him to majoring in Engineering at Purdue – he said his parents thought it would be a more lucrative career path. At the time he entered college, he also wanted to follow in the path of his brother-in-law who was a helicopter pilot in the Marines, so he enrolled in a four-year Marine Corp Platoon Leaders Class. Turns out that he was spending much more time participating in college theatrical productions and garnering all sorts of accolades in that realm while slipping in the math department…so, he changed his major to history in order to bring his GPA up to a “C” so he could stay qualified for the Platoon Leaders Class.

While in Vietnam, the jeep Fred was riding in hit a land mine and he was badly injured. He said he had no recollection of leaving Vietnam when he woke up in a hospital in Okinawa. After recovering, he remained stationed there and along with his military duties, he got involved in theatre. He acted in several productions and was active in the Okinawa Theatre Guild. It was while in Okinawa that he met his wife, Donna, whose father was a Colonel visiting and after sort of a whirlwind engagement, he returned stateside and they were married at Quantico in 1968. I had the pleasure of meeting Donna and I have to say she is an amazing woman. Keeping up with “Flash” and keeping him grounded is a full-time job.

Fast forward to Flash’s local theatrical debut.  After seeing an ad placed by the LTA soliciting actors for a production of “The Fantastics”, he auditioned and was selected for the part of the father. He made his LTA debut with the show in 1989. He has since acted in 12 shows with the LTA and has acted in hundreds of shows in the DMV over the years. He has taken a 2-year hiatus from the stage in order to concentrate on the duties he has as Governor for Public Relations at LTA. He did tell me, however, that he is going to audition for the part of Scrooge in this year’s production of “A Christmas Carol”. I have my fingers crossed that he gets the part!

All of the activity leading up to the LTA 90^th Anniversary as well as being a National Park Docent on the Mall at the WWII, Korean and Vietnam memorials has kept him running. He is also involved in photographing funerals at Arlington Cemetery for the Korean War Veterans Association, Iwo Jima Association of America and The Chosen Few (survivors of the battle at the Chosen Reservoir in Korea). And…all of this is pro bono. My life has been made better for having Flash come into my realm.