Carrying on our discussion about the "new improved" Cdn Inf Assoc., I was interested to read how another organisation has evolved, "seizing the moral high ground" (i.e. aim = veterans), and also "... keep alive the history of the Corps" (essentially through a "hearts and minds" type campaign)!!
... the U.S. Marine Corps League ... military service organization was founded in 1923 and chartered by Congress in 1937, to assist Marines‘ widows and orphans and keep alive the history of the Corps.
It has since expanded its areas of interest to include a wide variety of community service projects, such as recruiting and youth programs, Lutz said. But the group‘s core purpose remains the same.
``Veterans are our primary concern,‘‘ Lutz said ...
[here‘s the complete article]
Semper Fidelis: Years after he retired, he‘s nation‘s top Marine
By MELISSA WOOD
© 2000, The Virginian-Pilot
Ernest Lutz of Chesapeake is proud and grateful to be the Marine Corps League‘s Marine of the Year for 2000.
The 69-year-old retired master sergeant was overcome with surprise and delight to be picked from among more than 50,000 veteran and active-duty Marines during the final, suspense-filled moments of the league‘s national convention in New Orleans this summer.
Lutz retired from the Marine Corps in 1971, but those who know him well -- such as his wife, Gloria, and fellow Marine Corps leaguer Bob Fountain of Chesapeake -- say that at heart, Lutz is still and always will be a Marine.
``The Corps is part of your life forever,‘‘ Lutz said. ``You couldn‘t forget even if you wanted to.‘‘
At home in his inspection-neat, comfortable Great Bridge ranch house last month, Lutz looked Leatherneck-trim at just under 6 feet and 175 pounds, dressed immaculately in a crisply ironed white shirt, tie, black trousers and shiny black military oxfords.
Reminders of his almost quarter-century of service, from Inchon through Vietnam, are everywhere.
Three renditions of the famous memorial of the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima are in Lutz‘s home office, a cozy, gabled room over the garage. Framed photographs of military planes and helicopters crowd the walls. More photos, of duty stations around the world and old squadron mates, spill across the table and desktops and fill the half-dozen or so photo albums stacked on the floor.
In 1948, Ernie Lutz, a 17-year-oldfrom Arkansas, joined the Marine Corps, filled with leftover wartime patriotism and a certainty of purpose he didn‘t stop to consider.
Two years later, the 19-year-old private first class was part of the Korean War‘s Inchon invasion.
Twenty years later, as a gunnery sergeant, he reported for duty near Da Nang, Vietnam,as head of a helicopter maintenance crew. Despite two decades of experience, the latter duty was much harder, he recalled. In Vietnam, he had responsibility for lives other than his own.
While he was there, his unit didn‘t lose a single man, he says proudly.
Near the end of his career, Lutz was given a prestigious assignment, as flight engineer with a Marine air unit that flew government officials and VIPs. In one of Lutz‘s favorite photos, the Corps‘ most decorated Marine, Chesty Puller, long retired, and his wife stand by Lutz‘s aircraft. In the photo, taken in the early `70s, Puller is not smiling.
``That‘s how he always looked,‘‘ said Lutz, fondly gazing at Puller‘s stern visage.
Other, more recent photos with President Clinton and former Kansas Sen.Bob Dole reflect Lutz‘s rise to prominence with the Marine Corps League. He is vice commandant for the Mid-East region, and is a member of its national board.
Marine Corps League was meeting.
He was immediately interested in the chance to be a Marine among Marines again, still serving but in a different way.
He threw himself wholeheartedly into the local chapter, concentrating on recruiting more members. Membership in the Chesapeake chapter has grown from about 20 to 85 or so members over the past seven years, he said.
The military service organization was founded in 1923 and chartered by Congress in 1937, to assist Marines‘ widows and orphans and keep alive the history of the Corps.
It has since expanded its areas of interest to include a wide variety of community service projects, such as recruiting and youth programs, Lutz said. But the group‘s core purpose remains the same.
``Veterans are our primary concern,‘‘ Lutz said.
In 1993, after civilian careers with Bell Helicopter and as a real estate agent, Lutz saw a newspaper notice. A local chapter of the
Fountain said that Lutz, one of the league‘s best-known and most respected members, logs thousands of miles each year talking about the Marine Corps League, but hates to talk about himself.
Each year before the Marine of the Year is named, said Gloria Lutz, the group allows a little anticipation to build, reading the whole history of the winner‘s military career and post-military accomplishments before the name is actually announced.
About halfway through this year‘s citation, when the presenter got to the part about helicopters in Vietnam, Gloria Lutz said, she squeezed the hand of her husband of 46 years and said, ``Honey, that‘s you.‘‘
``No,‘‘ he replied. ``It could be a lot of guys.‘‘
- 30 -
