I'd like to tell you a little about the two Marines I'm researching.
Staff Sergeant Bruce Mathewson, Jr. was a native of southeastern Pennsylvania. I was tasked with identifying a serviceman who died in Korea, was from Pennsylvania, and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, otherwise known as the Punchbowl. Only six men fit those criteria, so I went with the one who identified a home, New Britain, closest to where I live and work.
Mathewson enlisted in the Marines in 1936 and re-upped three more times before his death in 1950. In addition to Korea he saw action in China before Pearl Harbor and in Guam and Iwo Jima during World War II. He earned a Navy Cross posthumously for the actions that resulted in his death in November 1950. Mathewson was killed in action in the battle for the Chosin Reservoir.
He was a married father of three, and two of the children are still living, though my attempts to reach out to the one who lives in the area have been unsuccessful.
Vic Wieczorek retired as a Lt. Col. from the Marines nearly a decade after he saw action in Korea. As you can tell from the photograph, he was an aviator. In fact, he flew F-4U Corsairs, which might be my favorite plane in the history of aviation. Like Mathewson, Vic was a veteran of both World War II and Korea. He flew air support missions as part of VMF-212 at the end of the first war, serving in the Philippiness and Ryukyu Islands, and again in the Korean War. Something interesting: he was a Marine but certified to fly from and land on carriers for the action in Korea.
I chose Vic because his story seemed interesting and because he was buried in the Washington Crossing National Cemetery, which is near where I teach. His residence at the time of death was Doylestown, but he lived there only for the last few years of his life. He lived in North Plainsfield, NJ for most of his adulthood. His hometown: Dearborn, Michigan. I've had the chance to talk with his son, also named Vic, and look forward to talking with one of his two daughters.
Staff Sergeant Bruce Mathewson, Jr. was a native of southeastern Pennsylvania. I was tasked with identifying a serviceman who died in Korea, was from Pennsylvania, and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, otherwise known as the Punchbowl. Only six men fit those criteria, so I went with the one who identified a home, New Britain, closest to where I live and work.
Mathewson enlisted in the Marines in 1936 and re-upped three more times before his death in 1950. In addition to Korea he saw action in China before Pearl Harbor and in Guam and Iwo Jima during World War II. He earned a Navy Cross posthumously for the actions that resulted in his death in November 1950. Mathewson was killed in action in the battle for the Chosin Reservoir.
He was a married father of three, and two of the children are still living, though my attempts to reach out to the one who lives in the area have been unsuccessful.
Vic Wieczorek retired as a Lt. Col. from the Marines nearly a decade after he saw action in Korea. As you can tell from the photograph, he was an aviator. In fact, he flew F-4U Corsairs, which might be my favorite plane in the history of aviation. Like Mathewson, Vic was a veteran of both World War II and Korea. He flew air support missions as part of VMF-212 at the end of the first war, serving in the Philippiness and Ryukyu Islands, and again in the Korean War. Something interesting: he was a Marine but certified to fly from and land on carriers for the action in Korea.
I chose Vic because his story seemed interesting and because he was buried in the Washington Crossing National Cemetery, which is near where I teach. His residence at the time of death was Doylestown, but he lived there only for the last few years of his life. He lived in North Plainsfield, NJ for most of his adulthood. His hometown: Dearborn, Michigan. I've had the chance to talk with his son, also named Vic, and look forward to talking with one of his two daughters.
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