MARVEL, JERRY WARVEL (Deceased)
Name: Jerry W. Marvel
Rank/Branch: O4/United States Marine Corps
Unit:
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Evansville IN
Date of Loss: 24 February 1968
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates:205500 North 1051600 East
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident: Laurence Friese, returnee
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews.
REMARKS: 730314 RELEASED BY DRV
Copy provided by G.F. Rowe, Otsego, MN
Navy Times
06/19/95
N.C. - Jerry W. Marvel, retired Marine Colonel, from as apparent heart attack
on his way home from a physical in Pensacola, Fla.
Marvel, a 30-year Marine veteran, was one of the longest-held prisoners during
the Vietnam War. He last served as commanding officer of New River Marine
Corps Air Station in 1983.
He later became a training and education director at Cherry Point Marine Air
Station in 1985.
Marvel, a Marine pilot, was shot down Feb. 24, 1968, over North Vietnam. He
remained a prisoner of war until March 14, 1973.
Survivors include his wife, Patsy and two children, Jeri LeBeau and Kevin
Marvel, all of Newport.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
______________________________________________
The New Times, Friday, October 13, 1995
Newport, North Carolina
Ceremony honors memory of Ret. Col. Jerry W. Marvel
By Joan D. Greene
Staff writer
Saturday morning, Sept. 30, the sun shone brightly, and the warm wind blew in
gusts, whipping the flags at the county veterans' memorial on Courthouse
Square, Beaufort, against the poles, their snapping sounds accompanying the
soft sounds of conversations as old friends met.
The crowd was there to honor the memory of the late retired Marine Corps Col.
Jerry W. Marvel, Newport, pilot and prisoner of war for 61 months in Vietnam,
a former commander of the New River Air Station at Jacksonville, and until his
death May 27, director of training at the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry
Point
The ceremony was arranged to give members of the Coastal North Carolina
Chapter 639 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart the opportunity to
dedicate in his honor one of the five flag staffs which fly service flags at
the veterans' memorial.
Charles Woodward, MOPH chapter commander, was master of ceremonies and
welcomed the group. A color guard from Cherry Point presented the colors, and
the group gave the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. They continued to stand
at attention as a tape sounded "The Star Spangled Banner," and Rev. Patrick
Williams, pastor of the Bogue Banks Baptist Church in Atlantic Beach, gave the
invocation, calling Col. Marvel an example for us to follow, one who showed
"what faithfulness really is."
Mr. Woodward introduced some of the special guests including Maj. Gen.
Michael Sullivan, Brig. Gen. James Mead and Col. William Scheffler, chief of
staff at Cherry Point, representing Maj. Gen. Fred McCorkle, commanding
general at Cherry Point; MSgt. William Stanfill, NCO-IC of the training
branch at Cherry Point; Dottie Litchfield, Col. Marvel's secretary and
administrative assistant at the training branch; Jeanette Fincher, secretary
at the training branch; Charles Olson, deputy chief of the training branch,
who had served with Col. Marvel both as a Marine and as a civilian, who said
the highest honor he attained was being a friend of Jerry Marvel's for 35
years, the Rev. and Mrs. Patrick Williams, representing the Bogue Banks
Baptist Church in Atlantic Beach; Father Frederick Flaherty, pastor of
Annunciation Catholic Church, Havelock; Bettie Bell, county commissioner, and
Derryl Garner, Newport mayor and long-time friend of the Marvel family.
He also welcomed the Marvel family, Col. Marvel's wife, Pattie; their daughter
Teresa and their son Kevin, and their families.
The color guard from Chapter 41, Disabled American Veterans, stood at the rear
of the gathering.
CoL Scheffler brought greetings from Maj. Gen. McCorkle, unable to attend.
He spoke of his own friendship and admiration of Col. Marvel, and relayed
Gen. McCorkle's message that the base has been notified by Headquarters Marine
Corps, that the new four-story training center at Cherry Point will be
dedicated to and named for Col. Marvel.
Mr. Woodward made dedicatory remarks, explaining that the Purple Heart was
started in 1782 by Gen. George Washington as a way to honor those who had been
injured in service to their country and for their efforts on behalf of justice
and freedom.
He said the Military Order of the Purple Heart chose to dedicate the flag
staff to Col. Marvel's memory, as a continuing tribute to his service and as
a dedication to the memory of all the nation's defenders who suffered and
died for their country.
Gen. Mead, standing just in front of Pattie Marvel, relayed his emotional
conflict as he prepared to speak at Col. Marvel's funeral, when he felt sorrow
for the loss of his friend, yet joy in celebrating the meaningful life his
friend had lived. He said he felt that the dedication of this memorial and the
Cherry Point training building, in Col. Marvel's memory, were well-deserved
accolades, deserved because of what he called "the innate goodness of Jerry."
He said that when people think of his friend Jerry, now as in the past, the
"trademark" they recall first is not just the time he spent doing for others,
not of his dedication to his fellow man, but of his smile. Gen. Mead asked,
"How, with what had happened to him, could he have that magnificent smile?"
Then, spreading his arms wide to emcompass the area where the Marvel family
sat, "It's here - his family - the kind of family every-one wants."
Gen. Sullivan, a former POW, spoke of his friend. "Jerry was a POW for almost
six years. He suffered greatly. But he was repatriated in early 1973. Today
many POWs and MIAs have never been accounted for. Let me share some numbers:
in the last three wars, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, there were 138,000
POWs and MIAs. 17,000 POWs died in captivity. Now, in North Carolina, from
all three wars, there are still 2,200 still unaccounted for. I have one
single plea: let's not forget these courageous people. We cannot rest until
every MIA has been accounted for. Support your POW-MIA organization."
Mr. Woodward said, Speaking for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and
I know I speak for Jerry too, we never want to forget those MIAs. They're not
just numbers. They're people. Keep them in mind!"
He gave a summary of the history of Chapter 639, MOPH, reminding his listeners
that the group dedicated to projects designed for the betterment of the
community. "Behind every Purple Heart is a heart of gold," he said.
Newport Mayor Derryl Garner recalled when the Marvel family learned that Jerry
had been shot down. "It didn't just happen to him, or just to his family. It
happened to all of Newport." And when he came home, he said, it was a time
for the entire community to celebrate.
Mayor Garner recalled the many contributions Col. Marvel had made to Newport
and pledged the community's continued love and support of the Marvel family.
Father Flaherty gave the benediction, expressing thanks for the opportunity to
take part in this "tribute to a very genuine hero."
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Just practicing.
