The image of Ronny in his Navy whites became ingrained in my memory even more so when I read his obituary a year later. Ronald Edward Rockefeller, a Navy hospital corpsman, was attached to the 3rd. Marine at DaNang. He arrived there May 30, and was in military action for only two days when he was shot in the neck, and killed in Viet Nam on June 7th, 1968. https://navy.togetherweserved.com Here is a general link that leads to the next link on Ronny's service. I never will forget him, or the fact that Eileen had to raise their son without his father.
https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=415062
I wrote this piece with Ronny in my heart. He did not come home as he did when he left us. The truth is, hundreds of thousands, just in the past twelve years, alone, who lived through service, do not come home as the person they left. Veterans need even greater support when returning home. Just waving a flag will not do. We need to wave money, jobs, and fully paid support services for the vets and their caregivers.
Photograph by Jean Schugart-Schild