WORCESTER COUNTY– As Memorial Day approaches, area veterans remember the brave men and women who served beside them in combat.
Nebraska native Dick Tanner served with the First Marine Division in Vietnam. During his first tour he was an artilleryman who went into the country with a Self-Propelled 8-inch Battery. He was promoted to Executive Office of the Self-Propelled 1.55mm Gun Battery and the Commandeering Office of the 105 Howitzer Hattery, and ended up as the Division Protocol officer.
Tanner was a Vietnamese linguist, interrogator/translator during his second tour.
“I have very vivid memories of several of my basic school classmates that served over there with me, two of whom received the Navy Cross, one received the Medal of Honor and several others passed away,” he said. “Each and every one of us who served there in various capacities understood what the dangers were and faced those dangers without hesitation. We in the Marine Corps – and I think throughout all of the armed forces – subscribe to honor, courage and commitment. And we know that there is always a potential price to pay. Some pay some; some pay all.
“These fellas that I mention – they all came back alive,” Tanner continued. “One of them has since passed away, but they in their own ways were fantastic Marines and I remember them every Memorial Day – I really stop and think about these fellas. The two individuals that received the Navy Crosses received them during the Tet Offensive in 1968, and the Medal of Honor winner received his as a result of action in 1965 – he was the first individual of any service who was awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam.
“The striking thing about him is he was over there for just 30 days – what we called TAD: temporary additional duty. He came from Fleet Marine Corps Pacific Headquarters in Hawaii and apparently they didn’t have any particular assignments for him that month so they said, ‘go over there and learn how to fight a war’ and he certainly did. He ended up with a Medal of Honor as a result of his actions over there.”
Tanner served from February of 1966 to March of 1967 during his first tour and from 1969 to 1970 during his second tour.
“Memorial Day holds deep meaning for me, and it’s always an honor to stand tall with my fellow Marines at the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial and pay homage to all members of all branches who have served honorably – be it Vietnam, World War II, Korea, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq – and salute them for their service,” Tanner said. “Having been in a warzone twice myself I know the hardships they had to put up with and I respect these guys to the utmost.”
Tanner plans on attending the service with the First State Detachment.
“Over the last several years I’ve had the honor of being able to render ‘Taps’ at the conclusion of the ceremony, and I’ll do so again this year,” he said.
Jim Coyne served for 31 years in the United States Air Force.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Coyne said. “It’s a very important day to me. It reminds me of my service in Vietnam. I flew fighters and I got about 3,800 hours of flying time and 130 combat missions. I was never wounded or anything, but I got shot at. Of course I shot back.”
Coyne flew 103 missions during his first tour and another 27 during his second tour.
“I’m glad I had my time over there,” Coyne. “It was important to the country and to my family.”
Coyne plans on attending the Veteran’s Memorial in Ocean Pines.
Dan Stachurski gave the keynote speech during the dedication of the grounds of the Ocean Pines memorial to Vietnam veterans.
“I was in the army – field artillery – and I served from 1967 until 1972,” Stachurski said.
“Memorial Day is a reminder of something that most people don’t think about, and that’s that Vietnam is a war that has come and gone, as has World War I, World War II, the Korean War – all of those,” he continued. “For me it’s a reminder that we’re still a nation at war and we’re currently fighting the longest-term war we’ve ever fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. Way too many people in this country forget that we are a country at war. So, to me Memorial Day is an extremely important reminder that – hey guys, get your head out of the sand and take a look around because that’s happening right now and there are people dying.”
Stachurski still owns property in Ocean Pines, although he’s moved to Port St. Lucy, Fla., where he enjoys sailing.
“I’ll be on the boat this Memorial Day, and we’ll be pointed somewhere in the general direction of the Bahamas,” he said.
Berlin resident Sonny Adkins organized the town’s Memorial Day celebration for a number of years. He’s been unable to do so during the last two years because of health problems.
Adkins served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1950-1951.
“What Memorial Day means to me is all the young men and women that sacrificed their lives so we have the freedom that we have,” he said.
Adkins expressed his frustration with the U.S. government’s handling of the military in recent years.
“World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and right up to the present day – the government’s not taking care of our veterans. The veterans took care of our country, but the United States government is not taking care of our veterans.”
Adkins plans on attending Berlin’s Memorial Day services this year.
Ocean Pines resident Paul Suplee served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, serving as a TOW Missile squad leader, Scout and Marine Combat Instructor of Water Survival. Although he never saw combat Suplee’s brother Danny was an Afghanistan casualty who served in Kuwait during Desert Storm and “The Stan” in 2006.
“Since it’s a day of remembrance for those who have passed during active duty I take (Memorial Day) very seriously,” Suplee said. “Danny was Lead-Scout on a patrol escorting wounded soldiers to a better-equipped hospital in Afghanistan when the incident occurred.
“Our late mother used to greatly appreciate the ceremonies and was honored regularly as a Gold Star Mother in Worcester County,” Suplee continued. “It brought her and the rest of us great solace to know that the community cared about the sacrifice that Danny and others in the military have made for us.”
Suplee plans on spending the holiday with this family.
Nebraska native Dick Tanner served with the First Marine Division in Vietnam. During his first tour he was an artilleryman who went into the country with a Self-Propelled 8-inch Battery. He was promoted to Executive Office of the Self-Propelled 1.55mm Gun Battery and the Commandeering Office of the 105 Howitzer Hattery, and ended up as the Division Protocol officer.
Tanner was a Vietnamese linguist, interrogator/translator during his second tour.
“I have very vivid memories of several of my basic school classmates that served over there with me, two of whom received the Navy Cross, one received the Medal of Honor and several others passed away,” he said. “Each and every one of us who served there in various capacities understood what the dangers were and faced those dangers without hesitation. We in the Marine Corps – and I think throughout all of the armed forces – subscribe to honor, courage and commitment. And we know that there is always a potential price to pay. Some pay some; some pay all.
“These fellas that I mention – they all came back alive,” Tanner continued. “One of them has since passed away, but they in their own ways were fantastic Marines and I remember them every Memorial Day – I really stop and think about these fellas. The two individuals that received the Navy Crosses received them during the Tet Offensive in 1968, and the Medal of Honor winner received his as a result of action in 1965 – he was the first individual of any service who was awarded the Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam.
“The striking thing about him is he was over there for just 30 days – what we called TAD: temporary additional duty. He came from Fleet Marine Corps Pacific Headquarters in Hawaii and apparently they didn’t have any particular assignments for him that month so they said, ‘go over there and learn how to fight a war’ and he certainly did. He ended up with a Medal of Honor as a result of his actions over there.”
Tanner served from February of 1966 to March of 1967 during his first tour and from 1969 to 1970 during his second tour.
“Memorial Day holds deep meaning for me, and it’s always an honor to stand tall with my fellow Marines at the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial and pay homage to all members of all branches who have served honorably – be it Vietnam, World War II, Korea, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq – and salute them for their service,” Tanner said. “Having been in a warzone twice myself I know the hardships they had to put up with and I respect these guys to the utmost.”
Tanner plans on attending the service with the First State Detachment.
“Over the last several years I’ve had the honor of being able to render ‘Taps’ at the conclusion of the ceremony, and I’ll do so again this year,” he said.
Jim Coyne served for 31 years in the United States Air Force.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Coyne said. “It’s a very important day to me. It reminds me of my service in Vietnam. I flew fighters and I got about 3,800 hours of flying time and 130 combat missions. I was never wounded or anything, but I got shot at. Of course I shot back.”
Coyne flew 103 missions during his first tour and another 27 during his second tour.
“I’m glad I had my time over there,” Coyne. “It was important to the country and to my family.”
Coyne plans on attending the Veteran’s Memorial in Ocean Pines.
Dan Stachurski gave the keynote speech during the dedication of the grounds of the Ocean Pines memorial to Vietnam veterans.
“I was in the army – field artillery – and I served from 1967 until 1972,” Stachurski said.
“Memorial Day is a reminder of something that most people don’t think about, and that’s that Vietnam is a war that has come and gone, as has World War I, World War II, the Korean War – all of those,” he continued. “For me it’s a reminder that we’re still a nation at war and we’re currently fighting the longest-term war we’ve ever fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. Way too many people in this country forget that we are a country at war. So, to me Memorial Day is an extremely important reminder that – hey guys, get your head out of the sand and take a look around because that’s happening right now and there are people dying.”
Stachurski still owns property in Ocean Pines, although he’s moved to Port St. Lucy, Fla., where he enjoys sailing.
“I’ll be on the boat this Memorial Day, and we’ll be pointed somewhere in the general direction of the Bahamas,” he said.
Berlin resident Sonny Adkins organized the town’s Memorial Day celebration for a number of years. He’s been unable to do so during the last two years because of health problems.
Adkins served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1950-1951.
“What Memorial Day means to me is all the young men and women that sacrificed their lives so we have the freedom that we have,” he said.
Adkins expressed his frustration with the U.S. government’s handling of the military in recent years.
“World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and right up to the present day – the government’s not taking care of our veterans. The veterans took care of our country, but the United States government is not taking care of our veterans.”
Adkins plans on attending Berlin’s Memorial Day services this year.
Ocean Pines resident Paul Suplee served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, serving as a TOW Missile squad leader, Scout and Marine Combat Instructor of Water Survival. Although he never saw combat Suplee’s brother Danny was an Afghanistan casualty who served in Kuwait during Desert Storm and “The Stan” in 2006.
“Since it’s a day of remembrance for those who have passed during active duty I take (Memorial Day) very seriously,” Suplee said. “Danny was Lead-Scout on a patrol escorting wounded soldiers to a better-equipped hospital in Afghanistan when the incident occurred.
“Our late mother used to greatly appreciate the ceremonies and was honored regularly as a Gold Star Mother in Worcester County,” Suplee continued. “It brought her and the rest of us great solace to know that the community cared about the sacrifice that Danny and others in the military have made for us.”
Suplee plans on spending the holiday with this family.