thedrifter
06-09-04, 05:24 PM
Marine posed for father's WW II memorial
By Sean D. Hamill and Maria Kantzavelos
Special to the Tribune
Published June 9, 2004
Two years ago Marine Pfc. Chance R. Phelps played the part of a model for his father's sculpture--a depiction of a World War II Army soldier mourning the death of a fellow GI.
He was proud to be part of a sculpture that will eventually grace a World War II memorial in Lander, Wyo., Fremont County's seat.
"It just bothered him that it wasn't [a statue of] a Marine," said his father, John.
The story now is ironic, John Phelps said, because it is his 19-year-old son who is being mourned after he died April 9 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
In high school in Clifton, Colo., Phelps was often the class cutup. He kept everyone laughing whether it was in the football locker room or in camp in Iraq with his dead-on imitations of the famous and not-so-famous.
"He was just a comedian," said his mother, Gretchen Mack.
Though his father had served in Vietnam in the Navy, and his older sister was serving in the Navy, it was the events of Sept. 11 that convinced him to enlist in the Marines.
"He was mad. He was angry," his father said. "And he was a football player, a team player, who thought he could help by joining the Marines."
Role model: Ron Michelstein knows it's unfair to try to weigh the worth of each soldier who has lost his life in Iraq.
But after working for two years with Pfc. Eric A. Ayon as a youth counselor for at-risk kids at Mid Valley Community Day School in Van Nuys, Calif., Michelstein said he cannot help but consider what good Ayon could have done at home against what he had to do in Iraq. At the funeral, "All I thought was, `What an immense waste of an awesome man,'" Michelstein said.
Ayon, 26, of Arleta, Calif., died April 9 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Ayon entered the military last year because, as he told his friends, he just "wanted to help his country."
He grew up on the tough streets of the Los Angeles area and as a teenager faced the temptations of gang life. But he turned away from gangs, Michelstein said, and worked a variety of jobs to support his wife and 7-year-old son before finding his role in 2000 at Mid Valley, which deals with mainly male teens who are having problems.
For the many hardened kids who came there, Ayon "modeled good behavior to them," Michelstein said.
"He helped a lot more kids here than he did as a Marine," he said. "Over here, he was fighting the good fight."
Gave back to community: After completing his service in the Army, Staff Sgt. George S. Rentschler wanted to spend more of his time coaching young people in baseball or football.
Before being deployed to Iraq in October, the sergeant made time on military bases in Ft. Hood, Texas, and Ft. Knox, Ky., to coach youth sports programs organized for military children, including his son, Scott, 12.
"He was always on the fields," said Maj. John Selman, a Ft. Knox instructor who served as Rentschler's commander when the two were stationed at Ft. Hood. "He was very civic-minded. He wanted to be sure he gave back to the community."
While in Iraq, the soldier enjoyed seeing children at play, said his mother, Lillian. "He would've liked to have shown them how to play baseball," she said.
Rentschler, 31, of Louisville, died April 7 in Baghdad when his military vehicle was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. He was scheduled to depart Iraq on leave on April 19, hoping to make it home for the Kentucky Derby, his mother said.
The sergeant was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, in Baumholder, Germany. "He was just excited about going and demonstrating all the things he'd been training for in his Army career," Selman said.
The soldier had been serving for 10 years and was considering finishing college when he was ready to end his military career, his mother said. Rentschler also leaves behind his wife, Rachel, and another son, Brock, 5.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0406090196jun09,1,4472514.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Ellie
Rest In Peace
By Sean D. Hamill and Maria Kantzavelos
Special to the Tribune
Published June 9, 2004
Two years ago Marine Pfc. Chance R. Phelps played the part of a model for his father's sculpture--a depiction of a World War II Army soldier mourning the death of a fellow GI.
He was proud to be part of a sculpture that will eventually grace a World War II memorial in Lander, Wyo., Fremont County's seat.
"It just bothered him that it wasn't [a statue of] a Marine," said his father, John.
The story now is ironic, John Phelps said, because it is his 19-year-old son who is being mourned after he died April 9 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
In high school in Clifton, Colo., Phelps was often the class cutup. He kept everyone laughing whether it was in the football locker room or in camp in Iraq with his dead-on imitations of the famous and not-so-famous.
"He was just a comedian," said his mother, Gretchen Mack.
Though his father had served in Vietnam in the Navy, and his older sister was serving in the Navy, it was the events of Sept. 11 that convinced him to enlist in the Marines.
"He was mad. He was angry," his father said. "And he was a football player, a team player, who thought he could help by joining the Marines."
Role model: Ron Michelstein knows it's unfair to try to weigh the worth of each soldier who has lost his life in Iraq.
But after working for two years with Pfc. Eric A. Ayon as a youth counselor for at-risk kids at Mid Valley Community Day School in Van Nuys, Calif., Michelstein said he cannot help but consider what good Ayon could have done at home against what he had to do in Iraq. At the funeral, "All I thought was, `What an immense waste of an awesome man,'" Michelstein said.
Ayon, 26, of Arleta, Calif., died April 9 from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Ayon entered the military last year because, as he told his friends, he just "wanted to help his country."
He grew up on the tough streets of the Los Angeles area and as a teenager faced the temptations of gang life. But he turned away from gangs, Michelstein said, and worked a variety of jobs to support his wife and 7-year-old son before finding his role in 2000 at Mid Valley, which deals with mainly male teens who are having problems.
For the many hardened kids who came there, Ayon "modeled good behavior to them," Michelstein said.
"He helped a lot more kids here than he did as a Marine," he said. "Over here, he was fighting the good fight."
Gave back to community: After completing his service in the Army, Staff Sgt. George S. Rentschler wanted to spend more of his time coaching young people in baseball or football.
Before being deployed to Iraq in October, the sergeant made time on military bases in Ft. Hood, Texas, and Ft. Knox, Ky., to coach youth sports programs organized for military children, including his son, Scott, 12.
"He was always on the fields," said Maj. John Selman, a Ft. Knox instructor who served as Rentschler's commander when the two were stationed at Ft. Hood. "He was very civic-minded. He wanted to be sure he gave back to the community."
While in Iraq, the soldier enjoyed seeing children at play, said his mother, Lillian. "He would've liked to have shown them how to play baseball," she said.
Rentschler, 31, of Louisville, died April 7 in Baghdad when his military vehicle was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. He was scheduled to depart Iraq on leave on April 19, hoping to make it home for the Kentucky Derby, his mother said.
The sergeant was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, in Baumholder, Germany. "He was just excited about going and demonstrating all the things he'd been training for in his Army career," Selman said.
The soldier had been serving for 10 years and was considering finishing college when he was ready to end his military career, his mother said. Rentschler also leaves behind his wife, Rachel, and another son, Brock, 5.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0406090196jun09,1,4472514.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
Ellie
Rest In Peace