Military Veterans and Patriots

Tag: Obituary

  • Richard Marcinko SeAL Team 6 Plank Owner Dead at 81

    Richard Marcinko SeAL Team 6 Plank Owner Dead at 81

    Richard Marcinko, also known as the Rogue Warrior passed yesterday at the age of 81 his family has announced.

    Marcinko enlisted in the Navy in 1958 after being passed over by the Marine Corps. He was commissioned as an Ensign in 1962 and was assigned to SeAL team two. In 1967 he was sent to Vietnam. At one point the Viet Cong had a 50,000 piastre bounty on his head.

    In the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw, the attempted rescue of American hostages held in Iran, Marcinko was tapped to lead the Navy’s counter-terrorism efforts. That led to the formation of DEVGRU also known as SeAL team 6. Marcinko was also instrumental in the formation of the RED CELL, and probed the defenses of various military installations.

    Marcinko earned a Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with V device and two oak leaf clusters and a Navy Commendation medal during his service.

    Dick’s time in the service was not without controversy. He served 15 months of a 22 month sentence in federal prison after being convicted on a charge of attempting to defraud the government. Marcinko maintains he was the victim of a witch-hunt because of the findings of the RED CELL team.

    Fair Seas and following winds CDR Marcinko.

  • Edward Shames, Last Surviving Easy Company Officer Dies at 99

    Edward Shames, Last Surviving Easy Company Officer Dies at 99

    Edward D. Shames, age 99, passed away peacefully at home on December 3, 2021.

    Ed was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 13, 1922, to the late David and Sadie Shames. In August, 1942, Ed was called to duty in World War II. During the war, he was a member of the renowned Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division now known globally as the “Band of Brothers.” Ed was involved in some of the most important battles of the war. He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. Ed gained a reputation as a stubborn and very outspoken soldier who demanded the highest of standards from himself and his fellow soldiers. He not only earned the respect of his men, but was recognized by command for outstanding leadership and on June 13, 1944, he received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. This made him the first non-commissioned officer in the Third Battalion to receive a commission in Normandy.

    In Germany, he was the first member of the 101st to enter Dachau concentration camp, just days after its liberation. When Germany surrendered, Ed and his men of Easy Company entered Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest where Ed managed to acquire a few bottles of cognac, a label indicating they were “for the Fuhrer’s use only.” Later, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son’s Bar Mitzvah.

    Ed was the last surviving officer and oldest surviving member of the “Band of Brothers.” On November 6, 2021, the American Veterans Center at its annual Veterans Conference and Honors program gave a final toast to Ed and presented him with the distinguished Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Wings of Valor Award.After the war, Ed worked for the National Security Agency as an expert on Middle East affairs. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve Division and later retired as a Colonel.

    Ed was preceded in death by his devoted and beloved wife, Ida. They had a beautiful and loving marriage for 73 years. They traveled the world together making lifelong friends. Ed is survived by his beloved family: his sons, Steven (Linda) and Douglas (Ilene); his grandchildren, Sarah (Matthew), Samuel (Holly), Aaron (Rachel), and Rebecca (Anthony); and his 12 great-grandchildren.

    https://www.hollomon-brown.com/obituaries/Edward-D-Shames?obId=23292641#/obituaryInfo

  • Colin Powell Dead at 84

    Colin Powell Dead at 84

    Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has died. His death has been attributed to COVID 19, although he had been battling multiple myeloma for several years.

    “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the Powell family wrote on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” they said, noting he was fully vaccinated.

    Born in Harlem in 1937, Powell attended City College of New York and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps while there. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation. As a Captain, he served a tour in Vietnam as an ARVN advisor.

    He served as National Security Advisor for President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. Powell was promoted to four-star general in April 1989. Later that year, he was selected by President George H. W. Bush as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as such until September 1993.

    Powell then served as Secretary of State under George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2005.

  • We Were Soldiers Once. . .

    We Were Soldiers Once. . .

    And Young.

    That was the title of the book written by General Hal Moore and reporter Joe Galloway. It described the combat in the Ia Drang valley between the  First and Second Battalions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and the North Vietnamese. It was the first large unit combat of that war. Prior engagements had been squad and platoon sized engagements.

    Galloway was born in Bryan Texas on November 13, 1941. After majoring in journalism at Victoria college, Joe started his career at the Victoria Advocate in Victoria Texas, later moving to UPI. While working for UPI, Galloway was assigned to cover the growing conflict in Vietnam.

    His experiences in the Ia Drang with then LtCol Hal Moore made their way into print in 1992 with the publication of We Were Soldiers Once. . . And Young.

    Joe Galloway in Vietnam 1965

    In 1998, Joe was awarded the Bronze Star with V for his actions on LZ XRay on 15 November 1965. 24 year old Galloway repeatedly put himself into harm’s way trying to get wounded soldiers much needed medical care. He was the only civilian in US military history to be awarded any medal for Valor.

    “I was somebody when I went to Vietnam. I was somebody else when I came out,” he said. “Eighty young American Soldiers laid down their lives so I could survive to tell their story. I have felt an incredible obligation and weight to tell their stories. I have done my best to live up to that obligation every day since then.“

    Joseph L Galloway died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 79.


    Requiescat in pace.

  • George Shultz Dead At 100

    George Shultz Dead At 100

    George Shultz, Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan had died. He was 100.

     Born December 13, 1920 in New York City, Shultz attended Princeton University. Shultz served as a Marine officer during WWII, rising to the rank of Captain as an artilleryman. Following WWII, Shultz attended MIT where he graduated with a Ph.D. in industrial economics.

    In 1954, he took a position on President Eisenhower’s council of economic advisors. He served as Labor Secretary, the first director of the OMB and finally as Treasury Secretary under Richard NIxon before leaving government service to work in the private sector.

    In 1982 he accepted Ronald Reagan’s nomination as Secretary of State. He held that office from 1982 to 1989. During his tenure as Secretary of State, Shultz diffused tensions with China over Taiwan, helped broker an uneasy peace deal between Israel and Lebanon, negotiated the INF treaty with the Soviet Union, eventually overseeing the dissolution of the Great Bear.

    He was married to Helena “Obie” O’Brien, an Army nurse he met during World War II, and they had five children together. Two years after her death, in 1997, he married Charlotte Maillard, San Francisco’s protocol chief. Shultz is survived by Maillard, his five children, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

  • Former Heavyweight Champ Leon Spinks Dead at 67

    Former Heavyweight Champ Leon Spinks Dead at 67

    Former World champion and Olympic gold medal boxer Leon Spinks has died after a battle with cancer.

    Spinks fought as a light heavyweight in the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal. He defeated Sixto Soria to win the gold medal. Spinks finished his amateur career with a record of 178–7 with 133 knockouts.

    Spinks shocked the boxing world when he beat Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978. It was his 8th professional bout. He gave the title back to Ali seven months later, losing by decision after a 15 round fight.

  • Harry Beal, The First SeAL dead at 90

    Harry Beal, The First SeAL dead at 90

    Harry Beal, the first volunteer for the newly formed SeAL teams died on January 28th at age 90.

    Beal began his Navy career in 1948, first serving aboard the U.S.S. Shenandoah as a gunner’s mate. He joined the underwater demolition team, the precursor to the Navy SeALs, in 1955.

    When the first Navy SeAL teams were established in 1962, Beal was the first to volunteer for the elite special operations force.

    “President Kennedy wanted some idiots that see lightning, hear thunder, balance a ball on their nose, and had ‘stupid’ written right there,” Beal joked, gesturing to his forehead during an interview in November 2017, “and I had all of that so I put my hand up. I became the first SEAL on the East Coast in the United States Navy.”

    Harry Beal was the first Navy SEAL, thanks to the roster being ordered alphabetically. He also may have been the shortest, but he was capable of doing a one-armed pullup.

    Photo courtesy of the US Naval Institute.

    Later, Beal was credited with pulling John Glenn out of the water after his historic spaceflight. Beal became a SeAL instructor, serving until his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1968.

    Beal worked for the Pennsylvania DOT after retiring from the Navy. In 2020, a bridge was named after Beal in his hometown of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.

    We have the Watch.

  • Captain Sir Tom Moore dead at 100

    Captain Sir Tom Moore dead at 100

    Some of you may know of the saga of the 99/100 year old British army veteran who decided he would do laps of his garden to raise funds for the National Health Service Charities in England. That veteran was named Tom Moore. He died today at age 100 from complications of pneumonia and covid-19.

    Moore served in the China- India-Burma theater during the war. He participated in the Burma campaign as an officer in the 146th Royal Armor Regiment. After surviving a bout of duengue fever, he returned to England and became an instructor on Churchill tanks.

    He earned the Burma medal, Defense medal, War Medal and 1939-1945 star while serving.

    Captain Tom, as he was known, raised more than £34m during his campaign. In the 24-day course of his fundraising he made many media appearances and became a popular household name in the United Kingdom, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations.

    On the morning of his hundredth birthday the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day had increased to over £32.79 million.

    His fundraising caught the eye of Queen Elizabeth. And shortly after his 100th birthday, the Queen invested Tom with a Knighthood, as a Knight Bachelor. That particular honor is typically bestowed on those who do great public service, however it is not one of the Chivalric honors.

    Resquicat In Pace.

  • Talk Host Larry King Dead at 87

    Talk Host Larry King Dead at 87

    Radio and Television talk show host Larry King has died. He was 87.

    Born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on November 19, 1933, King began his career in Florida as a local host and journalist in the late 1950s. In 1978 he launched the Larry King show, an overnight talk program on the Mutual broadcast network. From 1985 to 2010 King hosted Larry King live on CNN.

    Inducted into the radio hall of fame in 1989, King was also a two time Peabody award winner, an emmy awardee, and a ten time Cable ACE award winner.

  • Tommy Lasorda Dead at 93

    Tommy Lasorda Dead at 93

    Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda has died.

    Born on September 22 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Tommy was second of five sons. He signed as an 7ndrafted player by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945. After a stint in the Phillies farm system, Lasorda was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He made his only start for the Dodgers in 1954 before being traded to the Kansas City Athletics in 1956.

    He continued playing in the minor leagues until 1960, bouncing around between teams and leagues. His tenure with the Montreal Royals of the International League, where he amassed a 107–57 record and four straight Governors cup championships, led to him being inducted into Canadian baseball hall of fame in 2006.

    Lasorda really came into his own as a coach and manager. Hired by the Dodgers to be a scout in 1961, he was named the manager of the Pocatello Chiefs, the Dodgers rookie ball team in 1965. From there he moved up the ranks in the dodgers minor league affiliates. For the 1973 season, Lasorda was named the third base coach of the Dodgers.

    Lasorda became the Los Angeles Dodgers manager September 29, 1976, upon Walter Alston’s retirement. He compiled a 1,599–1,439 record as Dodgers manager, won two World Series championships in (1981 and 1988), four National League pennants, and eight division titles in his 20-year career as the Dodgers manager. His 16 wins in 30 NL Championship games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement. His 61 postseason games managed ranks fourth all-time behind Bobby Cox, Casey Stengel (all of whose games took place during the World Series in baseball’s pre-divisional play days), and Joe Torre. He also managed in four All-Star games.

    Lasorda was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a manager in his first year of eligibility. The Dodgers retired his uniform number (2) on August 15, 1997 and renamed a street in Dodgertown as “Tommy Lasorda Lane”. In 2014, a new restaurant named “Lasorda’s Trattoria” opened at Dodger Stadium. He was named the

    Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year (1970) UPI and AP Manager of the Year (1977) AP Manager of the Year (1981) Baseball America Manager of the Year (1988) Sporting News Co-Manager of the Year (1988)

    Resquiscat In Pace.