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By William Michels (Bill Michel’s father served in the 4th MarDiv during WWII) The funeral for Dale Cook was an impressive affair befitting an Iwo Jima veteran. In addition to Dale's large extended family who attended from around the country, proudly assisting at the service were veterans from a number of local groups, led by a contingent of Marine veterans from the Delta Diablo Detachment 1155 Marine Corps League (1155 MCL ), which Dale Cook founded. Ably assisting the 11

Dale Cook, President of the USMCCCA, Joe Rosenthal Chapter, died at his home in Brentwood, Calif., February 29, 2019, at the age of 92. Cook is well known across Northern California for his seemingly tireless commitment to veterans' causes and his pride in being a United States Marine. He was one of the few surviving Marines who invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, 74 years ago.

A service for Josephine Savatt, wife of life member Russ Savatt Jr . (who passed away in 2015) will be held: Friday, March 8th at 2:30 pm Miramar National Cemetery 5795 Nobel Drive San Diego, CA 92122

Funeral service for Jack Paxton is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., May 14th for visitation, with service immediately following at Banks/Page Theus , 410 N. Webster Street, Wildwood, Fla. Burial will be at 12:30 p.m. at Bushnell National Cemetery , 6502 SW 102nd Avenue, Bushnell, Fla. Pat Paxton says there will be a post-funeral reception around 2:30 p.m. at the Continental Country Club , 50 Continental Blvd., Highway 44 East, Wildwood, Fla., after the burial. Several out-o

A celebration of life was held for Mawk Arnold in the American Legion hall in Fairhope, AL on Saturday and, as Tom Kerr of our organization reported, “the hall was filled to its rafters. I swear more than half of the town was there!” Kerr reported that Dale Dye and Bob "Dink" Bayer , two of Mawk’s “snuffies” from the Vietnam war era were on hand. “Dale’s eulogy was simply magnificent!”

A belated but sad note: Maj. Gen. Terry Murray, who served as the Corps’ Director of Public Affairs in the mid 1990s, died at home on June 17, 2017 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 31, 2017.

(Editor's note: An additional obit was published on http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com ) By Capt. Dale Dye USMC (Ret) It's indisputable that I would not have survived my service in Vietnam if it hadn't been for a rugged, rawboned mustang officer who enlisted in the Marine Corps nearly a year before I was born. In fact, none of the seriously twisted bull-goose loonies that served as Combat Correspondents in the 1st Marine Division under Captain Mawk Arnold would have lived t

Retired Marine Maj. Norman T. Hatch passed away, April 22, 2017. Hatch was a videographer in the Island Hopping Campaign during World War II. (U.S. Marine Corps Video by Cpl. Hunter L. Helis)

CCHQ heard from Ralph Austin that longtime member and former Leatherneck staffer Chuck Tyler passed away sometime last week. He served in Korea as a photographer with Jack Lewis and Ralph Austin. More info will be posted when it becomes available. From emails... "I will miss that raspy voice --- He was one of the elders who took me under his wings and reminded me that we all had big egos but even bigger hearts! Chuck personified that. He was always very warm and one of the

MGySgt. Bob Springer, 84, suffered a heart attack and died in San Diego, CA on October 9. Services will be held at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on November 12. The information was passed to CCHQ by Bob's oldest daughter, Rusty Rodriguez who indicated that Bob had been in apparently good health. As Rusty said "he was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and we all miss him terribly."

Russell W. Savatt, Jr. MGySgt. USMC (Ret.) died peacefully on September 7, 2015, at his home in Poway, California. He was 87 years old. Services will be held Wednesday, September 30, 2015, at 11:00 am at the Miramar National Cemetery. Russell was raised in Kings Park, NY and is preceded in death by his parents Russell W. & Helen Savatt and his sister Sally (Joe) LaValle. Russell is survived by his wife Josephine, four children: Laura Reynolds (Jim), Russell W. Savatt III (

General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps, passed away on April 3, 2014. He was honored in a Military Tribute at The Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va., April 12th. Funeral and burial services will be held at the First United Methodist Church and Greenhill Cemetery , both in Waynesville, NC, at 1400, Saturday, 19 April 2014. LtCol Jim Diehl , US Marines (ret), recounts his experience at the tribute. Diehl is a loyal f

Sadly, Stephen Gude lost his battle with cancer Feb 2, 2014. He was well-loved by many of our members. More information as it becomes available. Some Facebook posts: Victoria Turney: rest in peace my friend... Lynda Johnson Baker: I truly loved this man. My heart is broken. Victoria Turney: so sad - I am so fortunate to have had him in MY life Lesli J. Ellis: Thanks for the photos Lynda Baker. I am heartbroken as well, but so very glad Stephen Gude was part of my life. De

Barbara Ann Huskey Coleman or Ann, as she was called by everyone, was a vivacious, wise-cracking, loving wife, mother, grandmother, auntie, and friend. She loved to cook, sew, and do just about any kind of craft. She was involved in the Beta Sigma Phi organization for most of her adult life. She was also a member of the Fallon Elks Lodge where she raised record funds for charity which helped battered and neglected children. She worked for and retired from the Bank of Ameri

George Esper , the tenacious Associated Press correspondent who refused to leave his post in the last days of the Vietnam War, remaining behind to cover the fall of Saigon, has died. He was 79.
Esper died in his sleep on Thursday night, his son, Thomas, told the AP on Friday. Esper suffered from a number of ailments, especially serious heart issues, and less than two weeks ago was released from a rehab center in Braintree, where he had been sent after his latest treatment at

Jackson, a World War II Marine Corps combat artist, is known for his Western paintings and sculptures, abstract expressionism and realist works. His art can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Denver Art Museum and others, and in collections owned by the Saudi Arabian royal family, Queen Elizabeth II, the Italian federal government and the Vatican.

Retired GySgt. <strong>Benny Marrufo</strong>, 75, of Aurora, CO died January 1 of medical complications. Benny enlisted in 1953 and served as a combat correspondent in Vietnam in 1965-66 at the Danang Press Center and again in 1969-70 as a member of the Department of Defense MoPic Team.

CCHQ has been informed of the death of HLM Woody Clemmons , Goldfield, NV and of David X. Sharpe , Buffalo, NY.  Sharpe was a Stars and Stripes reporter in Korea during the Chosin Reservor breakout and later.  Association records do not show him as a member.

By Sgt. Juan D. Alfonso HILO, Hawaii – There are few times in our lives that we meet someone who truly inspires us to be better. They’re the different ones. Men and women who live their lives on their own terms; brash and stubborn, but wise and interesting. On June 11, I walked through the house of such a man. I met his wife, met his friends, saw how he lived. I felt changed and inspired to be better, not just as a Marine but on a much deeper and rarer level, as a man. My on

Millard Kaufman, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of "Bad Day at Black Rock" and the co-creator of Mr. Magoo who waited until he was 90 to become a first-time novelist, has died. He was 92. He was a life Honorary member of USMCCCA and one of the founders of the Los Angeles Chapter.