Today I got my opportunity to deliver a eulogy for my fallen hero. Lauren had this opportunity last year and I enjoyed seeing her create, revise, and practice so that she could do well by Bill.
The other teachers and I put a great deal of thought into our eulogies. Many of us were editing and revising through this week . . . a lot of tweaking. In fact, I didn't finish tweaking mine until 6:09 this morning.
I was proud of my finished product. I had an abundance of information from his personnel file, and the story of his life in there provided a lot of good material for a eulogy. One limitation I had was that my attempts to reach family didn't get any responses, so I didn't have the personal anecdotes some of my peers could employ.
In some ways my eulogy was more brusque than what the other teachers offered. But when I was finished, the representative from the Veterans Administration accompanying us paid me a pretty high compliment: that I delivered a eulogy a Marine would really appreciate.
That was my point.
I invite you to again look at Bruce's grave marker atop this post. It acknowledges that he earned a Navy Cross, which distinguishes him from most others buried at the cemetery. It's the second-highest award that can be awarded to a Marine.
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I'm struck by the way these eulogies usually reflect the personality of the serviceman being honored, the personality of the person delivering it, and the state or community from which they both come. Greg delivered a very Texan eulogy. Maggie captured the character of Upper Midwest German Lutheran in her eulogy. Gena's was right out of Brooklyn.
And those latter two made us laugh, which was wonderful. Maggie's revolved around a recurring problem in her soldier's life: the misspelling of his last name ("Shultz" without a c). Gena artfully tiptoed around a career that was very check-marked, and found a way to acknowledge the his character, too.
My favorite memory from this program may be from Friday night as I overheard Paul work through the service record of Gena's soldier, gasping at the misadventures documented in there.
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While at the Punchbowl, more properly called the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, we came across a few notable markers that made us pause.
You'll note that the first marker I included is of a Marine who died not many days from when Bruce died at Chosin Reservoir. Many fallen heroes from that battle are buried here. Many of them were servicemen we eulogized today. That really was a horrific and valorous moment for us.
There were two tasks I didn't get to today that I wish I had done. First, I would have liked to have visited the grave of Ernie Pyle who I believe is buried here. Second, I wish I would have found the name of George Housekeeper on the tablets of the missing. Housekeeper's remains were recently identified among those of a group returned to us from North Korea. It's possible Housekeeper is from Lansdale.
The other teachers and I put a great deal of thought into our eulogies. Many of us were editing and revising through this week . . . a lot of tweaking. In fact, I didn't finish tweaking mine until 6:09 this morning.
I was proud of my finished product. I had an abundance of information from his personnel file, and the story of his life in there provided a lot of good material for a eulogy. One limitation I had was that my attempts to reach family didn't get any responses, so I didn't have the personal anecdotes some of my peers could employ.
In some ways my eulogy was more brusque than what the other teachers offered. But when I was finished, the representative from the Veterans Administration accompanying us paid me a pretty high compliment: that I delivered a eulogy a Marine would really appreciate.
That was my point.
I invite you to again look at Bruce's grave marker atop this post. It acknowledges that he earned a Navy Cross, which distinguishes him from most others buried at the cemetery. It's the second-highest award that can be awarded to a Marine.
- - -
I'm struck by the way these eulogies usually reflect the personality of the serviceman being honored, the personality of the person delivering it, and the state or community from which they both come. Greg delivered a very Texan eulogy. Maggie captured the character of Upper Midwest German Lutheran in her eulogy. Gena's was right out of Brooklyn.
And those latter two made us laugh, which was wonderful. Maggie's revolved around a recurring problem in her soldier's life: the misspelling of his last name ("Shultz" without a c). Gena artfully tiptoed around a career that was very check-marked, and found a way to acknowledge the his character, too.
My favorite memory from this program may be from Friday night as I overheard Paul work through the service record of Gena's soldier, gasping at the misadventures documented in there.
- - -
While at the Punchbowl, more properly called the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, we came across a few notable markers that made us pause.
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| Sabo hailed from Johnstown, PA. He was a Marine I considered studying in this project. I opted for Bruce because he lived closer to me. |
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| We heard one of our veterans specifically mention Corporal Kuhns in his discussion with us Friday. |
There were two tasks I didn't get to today that I wish I had done. First, I would have liked to have visited the grave of Ernie Pyle who I believe is buried here. Second, I wish I would have found the name of George Housekeeper on the tablets of the missing. Housekeeper's remains were recently identified among those of a group returned to us from North Korea. It's possible Housekeeper is from Lansdale.
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