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Then Major Kevin Shea was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.

Dear Readers,

PFC Thomas J. Bayes, 19, of Whitestone, N.Y., was killed in action in Vietnam, April 7, 1968. A few days after his June 1967 graduation from high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following boot camp, he deployed to Okinawa and from there went to Vietnam.

For the last several years, Paul G. Bayes has sent the obituary of his younger brother, Thomas, into the Leatherneck office, hoping we will publish it in the magazine. Private First Class Thomas J. Bayes was killed in Vietnam while serving with 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines 50 years ago. And his brother, himself a Navy veteran, remembers.

Several of the thousands of awards the Marine Corps Association & Foundation presents each year are namesake awards, presented in honor of outstanding Marines who made a significant impact on the Corps.

One such award is the LtCol Kevin Shea Memorial Unit of the Year Award given in honor of then-Major Shea who was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004.

His wife, Ami, and their children, daughter, Second Lieutenant Brenna Shea, and son, Michael, often attend the award presentation to the deserving unit in honor of their husband and father. They remember.

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“Shock and Awe”, scheduled for release on July 13, 2018 is a film based on the true events of Knight Ridder journalists, (including our own Joe Galloway played by Tommy Lee Jones) who were the only ones who “got it right” in the lead-up to the 2003 Iraq War when Read more…

The USMCCCA’s longest serving executive director was laid to rest with full military honors Monday May 14 at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell. Capt. Jack T. Paxton, USMC (ret) was surrounded by wife Pat and, at times, his entire family during his hospitalization and hospice care in The Villages, Read more…

The Marine Corps Gazette reached back to the the photography of Sgt. Manuel Serrano’s lance corporal days to accompany its May 2018 cover article on the state of Marine Air.

For those of you going to Jack Paxton’s Funeral on Monday, May 14th. I have mapped the 3 stops and you can download and print a text copy or send it to your phone…(funeral, cemetery and reception). There are of few of us staying Sunday and Monday night at the Read more…

Your professional association’s own Staci Reidinger, a member of the USMCCCA’s National Board of Directors, is the featured “Profiles in PR” leader in this month’s PR Strategy & Tactics, published by the Public Relations Society of America. Those who know the retired Mustang major are familiar with Staci’s super-hero energy, Read more…

“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the Association … (but) be prepared to give up occasional weekend afternoons and some evening hours.”   — Mike Frank

National Board member Mike Frank, 2018 Chairman of the USMCCCA Nominating Committee, reports it’s not too late to volunteer for service for the upcoming CC year (August 2018-August 2019).

Jason Huffine

“Jason Huffine and Melodie Snarr are fresh faces on the slate for Director positions,” said
Frank, “which leaves us with still one vacancy on the Board.”

Huffine, a “stop-loss” staff sergeant who left active duty after Operation Iraqi Freedom I, had also deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia. A former publisher-owner in Eastern North Carolina, he has in recent years specialized in crisis communications, change management and executive communications counsel in both the government and private sectors. He graduated from the Military Photojournalism Course at Syracuse and holds a bachelors degree and an MBA from Phoenix University.

Melodie Snarr

Snarr is an active duty sergeant stationed at Camp Lejeune and was previously assigned to DMA. The new mother says that “being involved in your professional association is a natural.” Melodie garnered the Corps’ “Best New Broadcaster” award in 2015 and, in high school, edited both the yearbook and the student newspaper along with being captain of the color guard. Sgt. Snarr is enrolled in off-duty education in pursuit of a marketing degree from Florida Tech.

The national officer incumbents, Keith Oliver (president), Shawn Rhodes (vice president), Christine Whiting (secretary) and Rick Lavers (treasurer)
have thrown their hats in the ring for an additional year, “but any duly-nominated CC, including self-nominated) can run,” Frank said.

Deadline for nominations is close of business May 15.

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We heard from legendary CC Marcus McAllister this week. Retiring as a CWO3 as a CBRN Defense Officer four years ago, he has stayed in that biz as a civilian and soon will be serving as the Mission Assurance Program Manager at 8th and I. Mac’s Marine Corps storytelling career Read more…

Saluting 100 years of women in our Corps Enjoy this Cpl. Victoria Decker-produced video … and look for her and fellow 4500 warrior, Sgt. Jade Wooden, on the screen. Semper Fi!