Posted on 05/20/2005 5:44:29 PM PDT by AZHua87
I tell you, these young Marines do us all PROUD.
Semper Fi!
Oooorah!
Tet68
The Corps is doing good. Once a Marine Always a Marine
RIP Raider
Prayers of comfort to the family and friends.
---
My high school gym coach was a Raider, a tough SOB, raspy-voiced, barrel-chested and full of attitude and a helluva nice guy, he passed some years ago..
Thank God for this hero!
This is an important point to always remember, and it reminds me of something I heard many years ago...
The next time you are behind an old man driving his car slowly down the road (or in other, similar, situations), be patient, because that man MAY be one of our nation's combat veterans who has EARNED, and DESERVES our admiration, respect, AND patience in his twilight years.
God bless this old Marine Raider, and all of our veterans who have put (and ARE putting) it all on the line for our country.
Semper Fi.
Semper fi and PINGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggggggggg!
Semper fi and PINGGGGGGGGGGGGgggggggggggg!
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (May 20, 2005) -- Four depot sergeants in dress blues came to the bedside of a dying Marine Raider Monday afternoon at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista, Calif.
Color guard members Sgts. Machel M. Messias, Edgar I. Villa, Koami Fedy and Alejandro F. Galvez went to the center to fulfill the dying wish of Wallace Reid.
Reid, who now has several life-threatening medical issues, has lived at the Veterans Home of California, near the center since 2001. Known as paratroopers of the sea, the Raiders were an elite World War II fighting unit that moved primarily on foot. The youngest Raiders alive today are mostly in their 80s, and many are approaching their final days.
Before the sergeants met Reid, Chuck Archuleta, a military historian at James L. Day Hall here, gave the visitors an hour-long Raider history lesson. Col. Robert O. Sinclair, assistant chief of staff, G-3, also reminded the sergeants that recognizing former Marines and their service to this country is important. He suggested the Marines not look at Reid as an old man, but rather imagine him as the 22-year-old he was during his time with the Raiders.
Once at Reid's side, the visitors learned that Marines from his time had saved his life.
"If it weren't for camaraderie," he said, his speech fading in and out. "I wouldn't be alive." Reid was aware but could not hold a lengthy conversation. After about 30 minutes, the group left Reid to rest.
Having planned more time for the visit, the Marines walked down the hall and spent half an hour with Robert Boulio, a retired master sergeant who, although not a Raider, had plenty of his own stories to tell.
Both meetings ended with the simple saying: "Semper Fi!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.