thedrifter
11-16-03, 08:22 AM
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031114171126
Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 13, 2003) -- Dust-laden air scented with bitter manure contrasted sharply with a widow's sweet recollections of her husband ? and gratitude that the stables he loved are now scorched with his brand.
Sgt. Maj. William F. Stepp, a Korean War veteran and Bronze Star with Combat "V" recipient, became the namesake of the base stables in a ceremony here Oct. 16.
Stepp, who died in 1999, retired from the Marine Corps to become the base stables manager in 1968, a post he held for 20 years.
"He worked on the stables and horses seven days a week all the time," said Mary, Stepp's wife.
Upon taking the reins, Stepp redesigned the stables. Three years after his death, renovations undertaken in 2002 kept true to his original design.
"He basically created the stables as they are now," said Michael J. Wilkinson, deputy director of the Semper Fit Division of Marine Corps Community Services. "He built it up as it is now and we just renovated to his design."
While Stepp was the manager, his daughter found a riding companion whose mother, Anna Hopkins, sparked the campaign to put his brand upon the stables 30 years later.
Hopkins, a longtime Camp Pendleton resident, recalled the efforts Stepp put forth three decades ago as the stables were under renovation.
"I remembered all the work he did, and I sent a letter pleading my case almost a year ago, and it's really gratifying that it went through," she said.
Wilkinson received the letter and at first was dismayed by the hurdles to getting the commandant's approval for the naming of a base structure.
"I was a little skeptical, but when (Hopkins) sent me the packet of his lifetime achievements, I thought that if anybody deserves it, he does," Wilkinson said.
Stepp was the driving force behind the rodeo scene here ? including the All-Military Rodeo that at times drew crowds of 20,000.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Robinson, Camp Pendleton's commanding general in 1982, wrote about how Stepp managed the rodeo that year.
"I would like to take this time to thank you for your efforts and contributions as part of the Rodeo Committee and as the Rodeo Director in the planning and preparation of the rodeo, which was the largest and best we have had in many years," Robinson said.
Stepp was not a born horseman, but he took mount and stayed in the saddle throughout his Marine Corps career. While serving in Vietnam in the late 1950s, he took second, third and fourth in the jumping division at the International Horse Shows in Saigon.
During the latter half of his career, Stepp became manager or president of the stables at each of his duty stations.
While at Quantico, Va., in 1959, then-Maj. Gen. Victor H. Krulak wrote about Stepp's role with the stables there.
"I appreciate the fine contribution you made to the welfare and happiness to this post. After you took over the stables, they commenced rapidly to improve in every aspect. Interest ... grew steadily, to the point where now the stables are more active and a stronger part of the recreational life of Quantico than ever before in the past."
In concluding her speech at the dedication, Mary spoke about the pride her husband took in his stables.
"I just know that he's smiling down from ear to ear in heaven right now," she said.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A4FC2DEC104CAE5885256DDE0079E5CD?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Story Identification Number: 20031114171126
Story by Cpl. Matthew S. Richards
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 13, 2003) -- Dust-laden air scented with bitter manure contrasted sharply with a widow's sweet recollections of her husband ? and gratitude that the stables he loved are now scorched with his brand.
Sgt. Maj. William F. Stepp, a Korean War veteran and Bronze Star with Combat "V" recipient, became the namesake of the base stables in a ceremony here Oct. 16.
Stepp, who died in 1999, retired from the Marine Corps to become the base stables manager in 1968, a post he held for 20 years.
"He worked on the stables and horses seven days a week all the time," said Mary, Stepp's wife.
Upon taking the reins, Stepp redesigned the stables. Three years after his death, renovations undertaken in 2002 kept true to his original design.
"He basically created the stables as they are now," said Michael J. Wilkinson, deputy director of the Semper Fit Division of Marine Corps Community Services. "He built it up as it is now and we just renovated to his design."
While Stepp was the manager, his daughter found a riding companion whose mother, Anna Hopkins, sparked the campaign to put his brand upon the stables 30 years later.
Hopkins, a longtime Camp Pendleton resident, recalled the efforts Stepp put forth three decades ago as the stables were under renovation.
"I remembered all the work he did, and I sent a letter pleading my case almost a year ago, and it's really gratifying that it went through," she said.
Wilkinson received the letter and at first was dismayed by the hurdles to getting the commandant's approval for the naming of a base structure.
"I was a little skeptical, but when (Hopkins) sent me the packet of his lifetime achievements, I thought that if anybody deserves it, he does," Wilkinson said.
Stepp was the driving force behind the rodeo scene here ? including the All-Military Rodeo that at times drew crowds of 20,000.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Robinson, Camp Pendleton's commanding general in 1982, wrote about how Stepp managed the rodeo that year.
"I would like to take this time to thank you for your efforts and contributions as part of the Rodeo Committee and as the Rodeo Director in the planning and preparation of the rodeo, which was the largest and best we have had in many years," Robinson said.
Stepp was not a born horseman, but he took mount and stayed in the saddle throughout his Marine Corps career. While serving in Vietnam in the late 1950s, he took second, third and fourth in the jumping division at the International Horse Shows in Saigon.
During the latter half of his career, Stepp became manager or president of the stables at each of his duty stations.
While at Quantico, Va., in 1959, then-Maj. Gen. Victor H. Krulak wrote about Stepp's role with the stables there.
"I appreciate the fine contribution you made to the welfare and happiness to this post. After you took over the stables, they commenced rapidly to improve in every aspect. Interest ... grew steadily, to the point where now the stables are more active and a stronger part of the recreational life of Quantico than ever before in the past."
In concluding her speech at the dedication, Mary spoke about the pride her husband took in his stables.
"I just know that he's smiling down from ear to ear in heaven right now," she said.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/A4FC2DEC104CAE5885256DDE0079E5CD?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: