“I died and went to heaven, all of my friends are here,” he said as he looked around the room filled with family, friends, and representatives of the local Marine Corp League, American Legion Post 175 of Washington, American Legion Post 639 of Claysville, the Patriot Guard, the American Legion Riders, and the Washington County Veteran’s Affairs Office. His medical staff stood beaming in the doorway.
Tom, who is
78 years old and is a highly decorated military veteran from Washington, has
been battling medical issues for over a year. He put on his best Marine Corp
t-shirt for the event, which included the presentation of certificates, a Marine
Corp flag, challenge coins, a Vietnam War pin, and most importantly – a beautifully
decorated Marine Corp cake.
I was
honored to present Tom with a certificate recognizing his many awards: a Bronze
Star with Combat “V”; two Purple Hearts (one for his services in Vietnam and
one for his stint in the Dominican Republic Conflict); a Good Conduct Medal;
the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; a Navy Unit Citation; a National Defense
Service Medal; a Vietnam Service Medal with two stars; the Vietnam Campaign
Medal with Device; the Expert Badge M-14 Rifle Medal; and the Sharpshooter
Badge .45 Cal Pistol Medal.
Sixty years
ago, Tom was part of Operation Power Pack, when the U.S. sent troops to the
Dominican Republic on April 24,1965, due to unrest and communist attempts to
take over the government. Marines and the Army 82nd Airborne served in this conflict,
which resulted ten Marines and 13 members of the Army 82nd Airborne being killed
in action and 283 wounded. Washington County lost U.S. Marine Pvt. Joe Crile
during this conflict on May 19, 1965. Tom didn’t know Pvt. Crile, who received
the medal of valor for his actions.
Stevie Rizor
said her husband, who was a master electrician, didn’t talk much about his
military service and therefore she was a bit shocked to find out that he was so
highly decorated.
After receiving
his awards, the veterans in the room gave him a proper salute and joined him in
a rousing rendition of the Marines’ Hymn. He responded by raising his fists
with an enthusiastic “Oorah!”
At the end
of the ceremony, Tom enjoyed a piece of cake and many accolades.
“I was in
the right place at the right time,” he said, still smiling.
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| Oorah! |
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| Tom and his loving family! |
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| Tom posed with me and his good friends Dave McClay and Nick Zullo after the ceremony. |
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| Carol Crile McBride of Ten Mile posed for a photo with Tom and I. Her brother Pvt. Joe Crile was killed in the Dominican Republic Conflict. |
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