usmc2427765
US Veteran
On 10 Nov 2019, I was in Goliad, Texas celebrating the USMC birthday with my USMC veterans cousin and the next morning we went to moving Wall which was in town for a few days. It was a glorious day with cool temps.
When we arrived at the location of the Wall, I got out of the truck and since the ground was uneven, I was using a cane. I went to the reception center where there were young people assisting us RVN vets in locating the names on the Wall. A young woman, who I later learned, was a college freshman, escorted me to the correct panel and asked how many names I had and I responded 4. I was beginning to tear up a little as I tried to contain my emotions. She assisted me in making the rubbings and I then took a few steps back to rest on some of the benches located there for that purpose.
To my surprise, she took a seat next to me and put arms around my shoulders and said" I thank you for your service and am so sorry for your losses". I looked at her and noticed that she had that clean, fresh scrubbed look that you only seem to see in small towns. I was really having a hard time now and she gave me a big , long hug and got up to go and assist other vets.
One of the names on that Wall was Navy Corpsman David Schoenwald who was KIA December 1969. He was attached to my unit "C" Company 1st Tank Bn !st Marine Division. I was able to locate his son and we have been in contact for several years.
The nature of his death I will post on Memorial Day weekend. For me, every day is Memorial Day.
When we arrived at the location of the Wall, I got out of the truck and since the ground was uneven, I was using a cane. I went to the reception center where there were young people assisting us RVN vets in locating the names on the Wall. A young woman, who I later learned, was a college freshman, escorted me to the correct panel and asked how many names I had and I responded 4. I was beginning to tear up a little as I tried to contain my emotions. She assisted me in making the rubbings and I then took a few steps back to rest on some of the benches located there for that purpose.
To my surprise, she took a seat next to me and put arms around my shoulders and said" I thank you for your service and am so sorry for your losses". I looked at her and noticed that she had that clean, fresh scrubbed look that you only seem to see in small towns. I was really having a hard time now and she gave me a big , long hug and got up to go and assist other vets.
One of the names on that Wall was Navy Corpsman David Schoenwald who was KIA December 1969. He was attached to my unit "C" Company 1st Tank Bn !st Marine Division. I was able to locate his son and we have been in contact for several years.
The nature of his death I will post on Memorial Day weekend. For me, every day is Memorial Day.