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my earlier decision to break this news myself—as bad as it was —I was mollified by the fact that it may have eased their pain slightly. Both parents expressed their concern about me having to leave Kay and Clay in the hospital in order to meet with them—they had heard about Clay’s birth earlier thru church members. These wonderful people —in the midst of their own tragedy actually sent flowers and a wonderful note to Kay while she was in the hospital—one of the most heartfelt moments in my life.
During these times I reflected on the irony of the situation where I had had to send Marines home from Viet Nam a year earlier and now I was receiving Marines being sent by the Corps. from the home end of the War.
Another of my many duties was to act as the OIC of the ‘burial detail’ . Our detail provided the Marine escorts for the caskets, played taps at the grave site and I presented the Flag to the Family—this detail took on many forms depending on the churches, the graveyards, family desires, etc.—we had to adapt to those various circumstances. Again, not one of my favorite duties to perform.
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