A belated but sad note: Maj. Gen. Terry Murray, who served as the Corps’ Director of Public Affairs in the mid 1990s, died at home on June 17, 2017 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 31, 2017.
Retired Major Mawk Arnold (center) is joined by lst Marine Division Snuffies, retired Captains Russ Thurman (left) and Dale Dye, during a visit to the Denig Memorial at the Marine Corps Museum during the 2016 annual conference. (Photo by former Captain Debbie Thurman)
(Editor’s note: An additional obit was published on http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com)
By Capt. Dale Dye USMC (Ret)
It’s indisputable that I would not have survived my service in Vietnam if it hadn’t been for a rugged, rawboned mustang officer who enlisted in the Marine Corps nearly a year before I was born. In fact, none of the seriously twisted bull-goose loonies that served as Combat Correspondents in the 1st Marine Division under Captain Mawk Arnold would have lived through their combat tours — much less avoided serious brig time — without the guidance, patience and protection of the man who was then and continues to be our Skipper.
Mawk Arnold USMC (Ret) 1924-2018 (Photo courtesy of Bob Bowen)
Mordecai R. Arnold, out of Texas via Alabama and practically all points east and west where Marines have planted boondockers, is my hero, but the noun fails to convey what he really means to those of us who served with The Skipper. There aren’t enough terms in a thesaurus to cover the depth of gratitude, emulation, admiration and devotion we feel for the gentle giant in whose shadow we spent the most seminal times of our lives. For the double handful of us Marine Corps combat correspondents who made it through the crucible of frenetic combat operations in northern I Corps circa 1967-69, only one term fits when we talk about The Skipper: love. We loved The Skipper unashamedly and unabashedly and we’ll gleefully rip the lungs right out of any macho sonofabitch that wants to challenge that emotion. We learned that from The Skipper who often threatened to do something similar — if less violently — to anyone who messed with his wayward boys in or out of combat.
It is with great sadness that CCHQ announces the passing of National USMCCCA Chaplain and retired Maj. Mordacai “Mawk” Arnold early evening, January 15, 2018. National President Keith Oliver received a call from Mawk’s wife, Alice, that she was visiting with Mawk who was convalescing following a very recent stroke Read more…
President’s Notes A recent spate of new and renewed memberships is helping your Association vault into the 2018 with high expectations for roster gains and robust registration for our gathering in New Bern this summer. Former Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jason Fischer, a newly-promoted Navy lieutenant commander, has re-upped within the Read more…
President’s Notes In case you missed it, ye olde Leatherneck, the unrivaled “Magazine of the Marines,” turned 100 last month. Easily the USMCCCA’s longest-running partner in the ink-and-paper biz (and now wowing readers on the web, as well), Leatherneck has featured the bylines, photo credits and manual arts contributions of Read more…
Practicing what he preaches, 11th MEU Communications Strategy and Operations Chief, Gunnery Sgt. Robert D. Brown, snagged a Marine Corps Association calendar shot with this image from the unit’s last deployment. The photo also appeared in the September issue of the Naval Institute Proceedings.
Dale Dye will be presented the inaugural Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th annual Beaufort International Film Festival. The festival dates are February 21-25, 2018 with the Red Carpet Reception and Awards Gala taking place on Sunday, February 25th at the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, Center for the Arts.
The Beaufort Film Society is pleased to announce that Dale Dye will be presented the inaugural Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th annual Beaufort International Film Festival. The festival dates are February 21-25, 2018 with the Red Carpet Reception and Awards Gala taking place on Sunday, February 25th at the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, Center for the Arts.
“If you look at his body of work in the film industry over the past three decades, read the stories from the directors he has worked with like Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, and Oliver Stone, you’ll see why we’re so very honored to present the first Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award to Hollywood Legend Dale Dye,” stated Beaufort Film Society President Ron Tucker.
Sgt. Levi Shultz, presently pulling duty at Recruiting Station Des Moines, Iowa, made the Marine Corps Association 2018 calendar with his photo of cold weather training.
Tampa, Florida CC, former Sgt. Shawn Rhodes, rejoined his former Devil Dog colleagues in the USMCCCA this fall. An international expert in creating high-performing organizations, Shawn is a Tampa-based TEDx speaker whose work studying organizations in more than two dozen countries has been highlighted in TIME, CNN, NBC and INC. Read more…