T. Michael Booth @tmichaelbooth - Twitter Profile

8 months ago

In 1969, while serving together in a bunker during intense combat in Vietnam, Marine Pvt. DeWitt Nelson and his best friend Cpl. (later MSgt) William H. Cox made a solemn promise to each other: “If one of us doesn’t make it home, the other will stand guard over him one last time at the funeral." DeWitt Nelson was killed in action shortly afterward. His body remained unidentified for decades. Nearly 50 years later, when Nelson’s remains were finally identified and repatriated, 83-year-old retired Master Sergeant William H. Cox fulfilled that promise by standing a final honor guard beside his friend’s casket. The promise was made to DeWitt Nelson, and it was kept by William H. Cox. Semper Fi.🫡 Drop a flag in honor of them. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Sassafrass_84's tweet photo. In 1969, while serving together in a bunker during intense combat in Vietnam, Marine Pvt. DeWitt Nelson and his best friend Cpl. (later MSgt) William H. Cox made a solemn promise to each other:

“If one of us doesn’t make it home, the other will stand guard over him one last time at the funeral."

DeWitt Nelson was killed in action shortly afterward. His body remained unidentified for decades.

Nearly 50 years later, when Nelson’s remains were finally identified and repatriated, 83-year-old retired Master Sergeant William H. Cox fulfilled that promise by standing a final honor guard beside his friend’s casket.
The promise was made to DeWitt Nelson, and it was kept by William H. Cox.

Semper Fi.🫡

Drop a flag in honor of them. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

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Sassafrass84

@Sassafrass_84

5 months ago

Saw this on Fb and wanted to share. Rest in peace, soldier. The watch has ended, and history grows quieter. At 102, Jessie Alton Mahaffey, the last living survivor of the USS Oklahoma, has crossed the final horizon, leaving behind the final human voice of that shattered morning at Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the Oklahoma rolled beneath a burning sky. Trapped steel became a tomb for 429 sailors. Jessie, then only a young man, fought through darkness and flooding, clawing his way to air while the sea claimed his brothers. He did not escape alone, he carried them with him for the rest of his life.🕊️🇺🇸⚓ Fate was relentless. Months later, the ocean tested him again with the sinking of the USS Northampton. Twice claimed by war. Twice returned. A survivor marked not by luck, but by an unbreakable will and a lifelong burden of remembrance. For more than eight decades, Jessie stood as a living memorial, bearing witness so the fallen would never fade into silence. Now, his long duty is complete. He has gone to rejoin the crew he never forgot. Credit: Anchor of history.