In Memory of William Davis Martin

Friends and brothers,

I want to share with you this story today, Mother's Day (this truly is a Mother's Day story), and also hope that it carries over for my wishing each of you the best on Memorial Day.

As many of you know, I started a scholarship three years ago for one of our own, William Davis " Davie " Martin.  Many of you helped with it this year; I received generous donations in amounts ranging from $5.00 to $500.00.  I know that it is a tough time for many of you who couldn't give at this time; however, please know that, whether you were able to be a donor this year or not, you were still a part of the contribution-if not in dollars and cents at this time, then in blood and sweat from our time in Nam.

This year we put together a total of $3,500.00, which we gave out in the form of seven-$500.00 scholarships to graduating seniors from Magee High School .

Two days ago, on Friday, May 7th, I drove over to Magee , Mississippi , from my home in East Texas to attend the awards assembly for the graduating seniors of this year's class.  I called Roger Teague, "Doc Love", to see if he would like to join me at the ceremony.  Not only did Doc make arrangements to come to Mississippi, but his wonderful wife, Barbara, took leave to accompany him-she said that she just went in and told her supervisor that she "just had to be there", and her boss said in effect, "You're damn right!"  Anyway, Doc and Barbara left their home near St. Louis about 5:30 pm on Thursday after work and drove through the night to make it to Magee on time to meet me Friday morning at the business of Billy and Buck Martin, Davie 's brothers.

I had first come to Magee to meet the family three years ago on Memorial Day of 2001.  When a group of us made a return visit to Nam in the summer of 2000, we were able to get to the exact location where Davis had been killed in an ambush on August 21, 1969; at a place we called "The Alamo", about half-way between Liberty Bridge and An Hoa.  When John OBrien and I stood at that lonely spot in the road, we held hands, said a prayer for Davie , and let him know that we had not forgotten him-that he would always be remembered by his brothers of Charlie Company.  At that time I also made a commitment to myself to find the place where he was buried in the states so I could pay him proper respects.

The next year I found Davie 's family and my wife and I drove to Magee, met with Billy and Buck, and they took us out to the small, country cemetery where his body now rests.  Billy and his wife, Patty, brought a little gardenia bush to plant at his grave and we had a rather tearful time together as we reminisced about my friend and their brother. 

The next year, I contacted the Martins and wanted them to know that my visit there hadn't just been a "passing through" sort of thing.  I didn't want to seem as if it had been something that I had taken lightly; not something that I would just get off my chest and then put behind me.  I didn't want to just stir-up old memories for the family and then be done with it.  Anyway, that is where the scholarship began; that first year we raised almost $3,000.00 for the fund.  I wasn't able to attend the ceremony, but I did send a note that Billy read to the assembly that basically said "Semper Fi, Davis, Charlie Company will not forget you or your sacrifice."

Last year we raised a comparable sum and, at that occasion I was able to make arrangements to get to Mississippi for the awards assembly and make the presentations.  At that time I told the assembly a little bit about the Davie we knew and asked that the people of Magee never forget their local hero.

This year I again made the trip on Thursday night after I finished driving my school bus route and, as I stated above, met Doc to be with me for this presentation.

After the awards ceremony we went out in front of the auditorium and had a picture taken with the seven scholarship recipients.  At that point, I then met Davie 's mother for the first time.  On none of my previous visits for the past four years had I seen her.  Billy and Buck told me that it was just too painful a memory for her to deal with.

There we were, in front of that small auditorium: Davie 's brothers, two of his brother Billy's sons, one of Billy's granddaughters, Davie 's aunt, Doc Teague, myself…, and Davie 's mother.  She had come to the presentation for the first time.  As you can imagine it was a very emotional time; she gave Doc and me a big hug.  She apologized to us for crying so much; told us that she just couldn't think about Davie without falling apart.  I told her not to even think about worrying about that; that Doc and I felt it was just a privilege to be with her and we told her that we were just representatives of all of his brothers from Charlie Company.  I told her that Doc and I were going to head out to the cemetery to visit Davie 's grave; I had brought a nice grouping of plants that I wanted to place at the site to grow beside the gardenia bush.  She broke down some more and then told me that she had been out there just the day before and had left some flowers herself-she said she had wanted it, "to look nice for us boys."

Billy then pulled me aside and told me something that almost broke my heart-as if it wasn't already hurting enough.  He said that Davie 's mother had not been able to go to the cemetery on the day when they buried him back in 1969, it was just too painful.  Furthermore, she had never been able to face the visit---for thirty-five years she had never been able to deal with visiting her son's grave.  I want each of you to know on this Mother's Day-2004, that, among many other reasons she must have had for finally facing the trip, this fallen Marine's mother made her very first trip to her son's resting place so that two of his buddies from Charlie Company could have a good visit with their friend---her first visit!

To add to this Mother's Day story, I will take the liberty of telling you that Doc and Barbara Teague had me stop by a florist shop so they could buy a very nice plant to give to Mrs. Martin from them on this Mother's Day.  Both of their mother's are now dead, and they wanted to recognize them through a gift to Davie 's mom.  When we went back to Billy Martin's home after our visit at the cemetery his mother wasn't there.  She had asked the boys to tell us that she just couldn't hold herself together to see us again at this time, but that she deeply appreciated our coming by for the ceremony and for remembering her boy.

I would ask those of you who have a Mother still living; that you give her an extra hug today for Davie and his Mom.  Those of you whose mothers are no longer with us; remember the warmth of a mother's love and give thanks--each of us who has seen combat knows that our mothers could just as easily have been in the place of Davie's mom.

What follows are the words I spoke on Friday at the Magee High School Awards Ceremony.  After I talked to the kids, Davie 's brother, Billy, called out the student's names, and Doc Teague shook their hands and handed out a scholarship certificate to each of them.  I don't presume to tell you this is a great speech, but it is a heart-felt one that I hope conveys the collective feelings of all of us.  If you choose to take the time to read it, please know that it represents my feelings for this Memorial Day and that I offer it to each of you as my remembrance these few weeks early.

Semper Fi,

Red

Awards Assembly talk:

Thank you for the privilege and the honor of being here today as a part of your Awards Assembly.

I would like to also say "thank you" to each of you individually for the hard work that you have done this year.  Too often kids are assembled and "talked at" rather than "talked to".  You are told what you are doing wrong and what you need to do to take care of business; however, today I just want to thank you for being good young people.  And to the seniors among you, I say a special thank you for reaching this milestone in your lives.

I would also like to thank your school counselor, Kay Ethridge, for the work she has done to help coordinate this scholarship for Davis Martin.  Thank you Kay.

I would like to especially thank the Martin family for being gracious enough to let us be a part of this ceremony.  Thank you to Billy and Buck and their wives; their children and their grandchildren; and especially to Mrs. Martin, Davis ' mother.

I would like to remind you that thirty-five years ago William Davis Martin was with us, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Vietnam .  On the night of August 21st, 1969, we lost Davie when we were ambushed by an enemy force at a place we called "The Alamo".  We had seen a good deal of action during that week and the night before we had been in a fire fight very close to our perimeter.  Davie volunteered to walk point that night knowing that they would be going back into a dangerous situation.

I would like for you to know that here with me today is Roger Teague, our Corpsman on that night.  Doc Teague is a true hero; he responded to the call of "Corpsman Up" and exposed himself as a silhouette in the night as he worked on his Marines.  Doc, I want you to know what an honor it is to be here with you on this stage today.

I am happy to tell you that we have raised $3,500 for this year's scholarships which we will present as seven-$500.00 individual awards here today.  You should know that the money represents donations from my friends--people with whom I work, friends from my community and from my past, and even some of my friends from my high school days; from my family---my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my sisters and brother, my nieces and nephews, and my son even gave his tax-return check to this cause; from Charlie Company---past company Commanders, Platoon Commanders, Platoon Sergeant, Squad Leaders, and fellow Squad members-officers and grunts alike; and from the Martin family---Billy and Buck and their children; and very special among all of these is a contribution of $200.00 from a lady on a fixed income-Davis Martin's mother.  To all of you, especially Mrs. Martin, thank you for your participation and support.

When these seven young people stand before you in a few moments I would like for you to envision, in your mind's eye, a nineteen-year-old Davis Martin standing up here with them.  I know this sounds strange, but I truly feel that he is present here with us today; I know that he is certainly here within my heart.  Davie didn't have a future---his was taken from him at such a young age; however, the seven scholarship recipients here today do have bright roads ahead of them and I feel that, in some minor way, Davie will share in a small piece of their futures as they use these scholarships to begin the pursuit of their dreams.

Finally, I would like to remind you that in just a few weeks, on Memorial Day, you will be recognizing all the sons of Mississippi who have given their lives for their country so that we can share the freedoms we are enjoying here today.  On that day, please remember all of your Mississippi heroes, and I ask that you especially remember your local hero from Magee: William Davis Martin. 

Semper Fi, Davie .