thedrifter
04-11-07, 08:27 AM
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
‘Always faithful,’ Marines march again
Memory Walk to honor friend, fight Alzheimer’s
by Danny Jacobs | Staff Writer
Speero ‘‘John” Brocenos didn’t speak much unless the topic was the Marines. So he sat quietly during dinner in a Riderwood Retirement Village dining room with his wife, Irene, and six strangers in early February, until one of the strangers, Earl Davis, started talking with a fellow ex-Marine.
Brocenos, nearing the end of his battle with Alzheimer’s disease, spoke.
‘‘I am a Marine.”
All eyes turned toward him.
‘‘I bet you can still fit in your uniform,” said Davis’ wife, Claudia. Brocenos smiled.
‘‘You could see the spirit in his eyes,” Earl Davis recalled recently.
Twelve days later, John Brocenos died of Alzheimer’s at age 89. Now, two months later, the Davises and Irene Brocenos, along with 30 family members and Marines, will walk together Saturday in John Brocenos’ honor during a Memory Walk through Riderwood’s campus.
The group has already raised more than $1,100 for the Alzheimer’s Association to help raise awareness about the disease. More importantly, Davis and Irene Brocenos have gone from strangers to friends united in a cause.
‘‘It was like something drew us together,” Davis said. ‘‘It all seemed to fall in place.”
Irene Brocenos still has many mementos of her husband’s military career, including multiple sepia-toned pictures of him in uniform. Her favorite photo is from 1943, the year they met. With his closely cropped but stylish hair, square jaw and piercing eyes, John Brocenos looks every bit the Marine sergeant.
John Brocenos survived Pearl Harbor after being called to active duty in 1941, his wife said. The couple married in 1943 in Irene’s native Cambridge, Mass. John Brocenos retired from active duty in 1945 and then worked as a cartographer for the Department of Defense until 1980. The Brocenoses raised two sons, including one who became an Army paratrooper. They came to Riderwood two years ago, one year after John Brocenos was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Davis, a Maryland native, became a Marine in 1953, seeing action in Korea and twice in Vietnam. He retired in 1985 in New Orleans. He and his wife stayed there until Hurricane Katrina forced them north.
The Marines remain central in Davis’ life. He still addresses fellow Marines by their rank. His metal watchband commemorates the Marines’ 200th birthday in 1975. He also has a grandson in the Marines.
When the Davises arrived at Riderwood last fall, a fellow retired Marine noticed a Marine sticker on Davis’ car. The two met for a drink to celebrate the Marine Corps’ birthday in November, and, in the hopes of toasting this year’s birthday with a larger group, decided to locate other ex-Marines at Riderwood. About a dozen of them have met three times.
One of the meetings was about the Memory Walk. A few days after their dinner in early February, Davis called Irene Brocenos to see if he and his wife could visit. Irene Brocenos said it was a bad time; her husband was admitted to the hospital the morning after their dinner, and his health was failing. The Davises next saw Irene Brocenos after John died.
Davis initially planned to participate with his family in the Memory Walk, sponsored by Riderwood and the National Capital Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. After John Brocenos died, however, he saw a chance for he and his fellow Marines to honor one of their own.
‘‘He came up with a dream,” Irene Brocenos said. ‘‘He’s really to be commended for that.”
But when Davis mentioned the idea to Irene Brocenos, she felt ‘‘overwhelmed. It was hard for me to absorb what he was saying.”
Irene Brocenos talked with her sons, thinking she would decline Davis’ offer. But they convinced her otherwise. ‘‘‘Mom, it’s not for you. It’s for Dad,’” she said, voice trembling, recounting their response.
Irene Brocenos met Riderwood’s retired Marines last month to thank them. Esko Hallila was there and expressed his condolences. Though Hallila had never met John Brocenos, dedicating the walk in another Marine’s honor seemed natural.
‘‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he said. ‘‘We like to serve each other and care for each other.”
Hallila will be marching Saturday in his red Marines polo shirt. Everyone marching in the group will be wearing red Marine Corps hats Davis obtained for the Memory Walk. A Marine Corps flag will lead the way along the one-mile route, with two CDs filled with marches and World War II songs providing a musical backdrop.
The canes and motorized scooters may not be part of a typical Marine formation, but the group will accomplish its mission, Davis said. ‘‘Everybody will walk in the walk and complete it one way or another,” he said. ‘‘Whoever starts it, we will make sure [they finish it].”
Irene Brocenos will also have the honor of cutting the ceremonial ribbon to start the Memory Walk.
‘‘It will be part of my life and my children’s life and the grandchildren’s,” she said of the walk. ‘‘It’s so important for them to know that their grandfather was in the service and Marines.”
Ellie
‘Always faithful,’ Marines march again
Memory Walk to honor friend, fight Alzheimer’s
by Danny Jacobs | Staff Writer
Speero ‘‘John” Brocenos didn’t speak much unless the topic was the Marines. So he sat quietly during dinner in a Riderwood Retirement Village dining room with his wife, Irene, and six strangers in early February, until one of the strangers, Earl Davis, started talking with a fellow ex-Marine.
Brocenos, nearing the end of his battle with Alzheimer’s disease, spoke.
‘‘I am a Marine.”
All eyes turned toward him.
‘‘I bet you can still fit in your uniform,” said Davis’ wife, Claudia. Brocenos smiled.
‘‘You could see the spirit in his eyes,” Earl Davis recalled recently.
Twelve days later, John Brocenos died of Alzheimer’s at age 89. Now, two months later, the Davises and Irene Brocenos, along with 30 family members and Marines, will walk together Saturday in John Brocenos’ honor during a Memory Walk through Riderwood’s campus.
The group has already raised more than $1,100 for the Alzheimer’s Association to help raise awareness about the disease. More importantly, Davis and Irene Brocenos have gone from strangers to friends united in a cause.
‘‘It was like something drew us together,” Davis said. ‘‘It all seemed to fall in place.”
Irene Brocenos still has many mementos of her husband’s military career, including multiple sepia-toned pictures of him in uniform. Her favorite photo is from 1943, the year they met. With his closely cropped but stylish hair, square jaw and piercing eyes, John Brocenos looks every bit the Marine sergeant.
John Brocenos survived Pearl Harbor after being called to active duty in 1941, his wife said. The couple married in 1943 in Irene’s native Cambridge, Mass. John Brocenos retired from active duty in 1945 and then worked as a cartographer for the Department of Defense until 1980. The Brocenoses raised two sons, including one who became an Army paratrooper. They came to Riderwood two years ago, one year after John Brocenos was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Davis, a Maryland native, became a Marine in 1953, seeing action in Korea and twice in Vietnam. He retired in 1985 in New Orleans. He and his wife stayed there until Hurricane Katrina forced them north.
The Marines remain central in Davis’ life. He still addresses fellow Marines by their rank. His metal watchband commemorates the Marines’ 200th birthday in 1975. He also has a grandson in the Marines.
When the Davises arrived at Riderwood last fall, a fellow retired Marine noticed a Marine sticker on Davis’ car. The two met for a drink to celebrate the Marine Corps’ birthday in November, and, in the hopes of toasting this year’s birthday with a larger group, decided to locate other ex-Marines at Riderwood. About a dozen of them have met three times.
One of the meetings was about the Memory Walk. A few days after their dinner in early February, Davis called Irene Brocenos to see if he and his wife could visit. Irene Brocenos said it was a bad time; her husband was admitted to the hospital the morning after their dinner, and his health was failing. The Davises next saw Irene Brocenos after John died.
Davis initially planned to participate with his family in the Memory Walk, sponsored by Riderwood and the National Capital Area Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. After John Brocenos died, however, he saw a chance for he and his fellow Marines to honor one of their own.
‘‘He came up with a dream,” Irene Brocenos said. ‘‘He’s really to be commended for that.”
But when Davis mentioned the idea to Irene Brocenos, she felt ‘‘overwhelmed. It was hard for me to absorb what he was saying.”
Irene Brocenos talked with her sons, thinking she would decline Davis’ offer. But they convinced her otherwise. ‘‘‘Mom, it’s not for you. It’s for Dad,’” she said, voice trembling, recounting their response.
Irene Brocenos met Riderwood’s retired Marines last month to thank them. Esko Hallila was there and expressed his condolences. Though Hallila had never met John Brocenos, dedicating the walk in another Marine’s honor seemed natural.
‘‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he said. ‘‘We like to serve each other and care for each other.”
Hallila will be marching Saturday in his red Marines polo shirt. Everyone marching in the group will be wearing red Marine Corps hats Davis obtained for the Memory Walk. A Marine Corps flag will lead the way along the one-mile route, with two CDs filled with marches and World War II songs providing a musical backdrop.
The canes and motorized scooters may not be part of a typical Marine formation, but the group will accomplish its mission, Davis said. ‘‘Everybody will walk in the walk and complete it one way or another,” he said. ‘‘Whoever starts it, we will make sure [they finish it].”
Irene Brocenos will also have the honor of cutting the ceremonial ribbon to start the Memory Walk.
‘‘It will be part of my life and my children’s life and the grandchildren’s,” she said of the walk. ‘‘It’s so important for them to know that their grandfather was in the service and Marines.”
Ellie